Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Unless Perry Mason Forrest was misquoted in the Southern Heritage Rally held at Fort Nonsense article, printed in the July 30 issue of the Gazette-Journal, his comments are disturbing on a number of levels—historically, factually, and emotionally. Because the article indicates that Mr. Forrest has studied U.S. history, I am particularly concerned about the inaccuracy of his belief that “all slave ships bore the American flag.”

The trans-Atlantic slave trade, which I believe Mr. Forrest is referencing, was conducted for three centuries, primarily by the Portuguese, British, French, Spanish, and Dutch Empires. Approximately 12 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. But slavery did not originate in the 16th century: it has existed almost since the creation of humankind. Much of the Old Testament book of Exodus recounts the deliverance of Israel from their enslavement by Egypt.

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