Takes issue with name of event
I noticed that someone “mistakenly” used the correct name for the Eight O’May Celebration in the front page calendar and then the next day, someone “corrected” it.
I don’t know why anyone thinks they have to sanitize the name of a historical event. It was known as The Eight O’May by every freed slave and every white person in Columbus and that title remained for over 150 years until this age of political correctness.
The pre-Civil War white population in Lowndes County was predominately Scotch-Irish. Even in the current-day Irish language, there is no “th” sound. Anyone that ever met Father Hurley at the Catholic Church in Columbus has heard him say; t(h)ird, fort(h),…
The pronunciation of Eight O’May is as much a cause of European pronunciation as African and in no way should be dismissed or mocked.
Nobody finds any fault with the expression Juneteenth and they shouldn’t with Eight O’May.
Part of the charm of this holiday is its vernacular pronunciation.
Bob Raymond
Columbus
Editor’s note: The paper is not being politically correct in calling the event the Eighth of May Emancipation Celebration. That’s what event organizers call it.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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