Does this resolution make my butt look RACIST? (Va.Repubs honor two generations of segregationists)
It was a different story Tuesday as the General Assembly prepared to honor Byrds son, the late Harry F. Byrd Jr., who followed in his fathers footsteps in the U.S. Senate and segregationism.
Black legislators and some white Democrats walked out of the Virginia House and Senate in protest Tuesday as relatives of the late U.S. senator were presented with resolutions celebrating his life and public service.
He was an unrepentant segregationist, said Sen. A. Donald McEachin (D-Henrico), who slipped out of chambers to avoid the presentation. I dont have anything against the family. I dont have anything against the sponsors of the legislation. It would be very difficult for me to vote for or applaud an unrepentant segregationist.
The younger Byrd had supported Virginias massive resistance to the U.S. Supreme Courts 1954 ruling that outlawed segregation in public schools. He stood by that policy decades later, maintaining it had helped Virginia avoid the violence that accompanied integration elsewhere.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/memorial-for-harry-f-byrd-jr-causes-tension-in-va-general-assembly/2014/03/04/d3c9aa36-a3d5-11e3-84d4-e59b1709222c_story.html