https://kevinmlevin.substack.com/p/livingston-tennessees-black-mayor
In fact, this story is the perfect example of the perfect storm of conditions that continues to reinforce the Black Confederate myth, especially in cases that involve African Americans.
One of the ways the SCV has attempted to defend its organization and mission in recent decades is to admit African-American members by claiming that Black men served as soldiers in the army. It’s a way of defending the legacy of their ancestors from the fact that the Confederacy was fighting to create an independent slaveholding republic.
The most obvious problem is simply not understanding the basic history of the Confederacy and the ways in which they utilized slave labor for military purposes throughout the war. This failure leads directly to the misintepretation of key docoments. In this case, pension applications.