Where’s Our Check: A response to Confederates Day

As the US states of Alabama and Mississippi are celebrating Confederate Memorial Day. this week… we, the Uprooting Qahr! team, remain laser focused on reparations to the descendants of enslaved Africans and reconciliation for Tribes.

A sculpture depicted enslaved Africans at the Legacy Museum in Alabama, photo taken by Taishya on a Heritage Trip in Novembe r2025.

Uprooting Qahr! Power, Privilege, Paperwork follows Taishya Adams – an African American waiting on 40 acres and a mule on stolen land – while she reconciles with the legacy of colonialism, the uneven promise of democracy, and confronts the war machine from Africa to the Americas to West Asia and beyond.  In the piece, we explore this legacy which includes the role of the US Confederacy , the pardoning of US Confederates by President Andrew Johnson, and the states that still memorialize those who fought for the institution of slavery to remain.

What is Confederate Memorial Day

People salute those attempting to honor those who fell in the Civil War by Tristan Ruppert

Confederate Memorial Day was created in Georgia on April 26, 1866 – two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It honored the deaths of Confederate soldiers on the first anniversary of the day that Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee to Union Gen. William Sherman at Bennett Place, North Carolina.

The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or the South, was a community pro-slavery group in the Southern United States from 1861 to 1865. The confederacy was comprised by 11 US states that declared secession: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These states fought against the United States during the Civil War.

Many states have gotten rid of the holiday, although Alabama and Mississippi have not. The continued recognition of Confederates Day is an opportunity to remember the debt owed to the descendants of enslaved Africans AND the reconciliation of Tribes whose stolen land we call home.

Uprooting Qahr! is about getting to the root of our collective struggles, and to do this we need the willpower to dig down to uncover the rotting roots in our collective histories. For more on reparations and reconciliation take a read of our Reflections on In(ter)dependence Day 2026 blog post.

Chains used to enslave Africans in Alabama

For more on the Equal Justice Institute, click here. Once we look at the harms for what they are, we recognize that reparations are due to those who were harmed especially since slave owners were compensated.

“I talk about slavery and lynching in America not because I want to punish but because I want to liberate us. I want us to be unburdened in future generations from this history. I want us to get to the kind of freedom that we all talk about.”

— Exec. Director of the Equal Justice Institute Bryan Stevenson

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. advocated for reparations as a “Bill of Rights for the Disadvantaged” in his 1964 book, Why We Can’t Wait, arguing that social and economic compensation was owed for centuries of oppression. Click here to hear Dr. King speak on reparations.

Meet Our May Performance Host!

We are honored to be invited by members of the Middle East Justice Project at the First Unitarian Society of Denver for our May 2026 Public Previews of Uprooting Qahr! The Middle East Justice Project was formed in January 2024 with the goal of raising awareness of the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the human rights crisis in Occupied Palestine through educational opportunities and community-building events. In the past 2 years, we have organized over 50 events, including vigils, interfaith services, classes, panel discussions, cultural events, film screenings, poetry readings, guest speakers, workshops, and community conversations.

In fall 2025, the Middle East Justice Project hosted a 6 week course titled, ” Palestine in Context” course. This course brought together ministers, professors, and activists to discuss Palestine’s history; the Gaza genocide; the US general election; current issues in US culture, media, and education; community-based solidarity and activism work; and more. Ultimately, these dedicated sessions offered opportunities for developing skills in engaging the Palestine question, including difficult conversations, public speaking, and political activism.

The May 2026 Uprooting Qahr! performance and film sneak peak align with the mission of the Middle East Justice Project by honoring the resilient relationships and systemic oppressions that cross time and space between West Asia, Africa, Europe, and the American West.

The TWO Uprooting Qahr Experiences!!

1 – May 12th 6:30 – 8:30 pm – Performance Preview

We are excited to share the latest monologues and music of Uprooting Qahr! Power, Privilege, and Paperwork. We will be joined by special musical guests Selasee and Nicholas!!  Selasee, originally from Ghana, is a singer/songwriter who explores  reggae music influenced by pop and the west African highlife music genres. We will also be joined by Nicholas Felder, composer and violinist who recently was awarded a Boulder Arts Week Rising Star. Note that tickets are donation based.

May 19th 6:30 – 8:30 pm – Film Sneak Peak & Talk Back

We will screen a work sample of the short film and facilitate a talk back with filmmakers – Dewi, Jason, and Taishya.  We will also hear from Linda Badwan, Palestinian community leader and human rights activist. Note that tickets are donation based.

In solidarity,

the UQ team!