Sometimes something good happens when you aren’t expecting it. I have discovered, quite by accident, a 1959-1961 television show, “The Rebel,” which I have been streaming with pleasure for several weeks. The show is a wonderful contrast to the ignorant, vile, and dishonest portrayals of Confederates that have appeared in the “entertainment” media in recent decades.


“The Rebel” reminds us that hate-Dixie was not always the prevailing case in American popular culture. In better times all the major Hollywood stars played admirable Confederates in the movies: John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Gary Cooper, Martin Sheen, Allan Ladd, Charlton Heston, William Holden, Victor Mature, Henry Fonda, Tyrone Power, Clint Eastwood, and many more I could mention. And I am not even counting the Southern-born like Randolph Scott, Joseph Cotten, or Audie Murphy.


“The Rebel” ran for 2 seasons with 76 half-hour episodes. The main character is an ex-Confederate roaming the wide West. He is still in Confederate clothes, which are probably among the few clothes that he has, and thus is recognizable by friend or foe wherever he goes. He is satisfied that the war is over but has no apologies for his proud service in the Confederate army.


He is a good man. He always helps out people in trouble and only kills Yankees and Indians when it is unavoidable. He keeps a diary of the stories he experiences in his wide travels. Perhaps he will be a writer someday.


The plots are mostly quite good. The historical settings of the rough West and its people are mostly authentic, which cannot be said about most War Between the States or “Westerns” shows even from earlier days. Jefferson and Varina Davis even appear in an episode. Johnny Cash does the theme song: “The Rebel, Johnny Yuma.”


“The Rebel” is Nick Adams, the screen name of a Ukrainian-American from the Pennsylvania coal fields. He does not have the accent but many of the characters do. He plays very well and convincingly, a good man—modest and independent but just and charitable, as well a good fighter with fist, Colt, and sawed off scatter-gun. The fine actor, born Nicolas Adamshock, died at 36 under unclear circumstances.

The election of Somalia Harris as President will enable us to move forward in erasing America’s racist and slave-holding past. A lot has been done recently in eliminating signs and symbols of the evil white-supremist regime, but much more is needed.


The Washington monument is named after a slaveholder. And it is white—a symbol of white supremacy. The monument needs to be painted in rainbow colors to represent the new tolerant America. After all, all our embassies abroad already fly the rainbow flag.


Of course, the capital is named for a white supremacist slaveholder. It is time to move on. The capital should be renamed. Tubman City? John Brown City? Obama would be a good name to signify America’s diverse origins and outreach to the nonwhite world.


What might we do about the monument to the slaveholding white supremacist Jefferson? Perhaps it ought to simply be demolished and certainly closed to view until it is put in a context that will explain his evil legacy.


Most Americans don’t know that the author of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was a slaveholder. It has never been a satisfactory national anthem. A new one is needed. I suggest the great Civil Rights song “We Shall Overcome.”


​Great progress has been made in recent years in destroying memorials to racists and traitors, as well as changing the names of forts and ships. As you can see by these remarks there is much more to be done. We will soon have the opportunity to move forward in erasing the evil American past. We can expect the new President to get serious about reparations for slavery.