This article is the first in an excellent ongoing series by al.com writer Kyle Whitmire, called State of Denial. About the series, Whitmire says, “Alabama has been poisoned by old lies. “State of Denial” is a year-long initiative looking at how Alabama’s past corrupts its present and deprives the state of a better future.”
I don’t mean to “not all white people” in this comment, by the way. Alabama is absolutely a white supremacist state. White supremacy is baked into the constitution and structure of the state government. Folks are working to change it, but while old lies like the “Lost Cause” narrative hold sway and while white folks in this state continue to be ignorant of the white supremacist roots of the institutions in this state, then it will be an uphill battle.