On the heels of last week’s live remote broadcast in Alabama, we welcome longtime Southern activist Patricia Godwin to the program to discuss her decades of work at Ft. Dixie in Selma.
[00:00:01] You're listening to the Liberty News Radio Network, and this is The Political Cesspool. The Political Cesspool, known across the South and worldwide as the South's foremost populist conservative radio program. And here to guide you through the murky waters of The Political Cesspool is your host, James Edwards.
[00:00:30] Well, welcome back, everybody. You just heard from the great Glenn Allen of the Free Expression Foundation, some of the work he's involved in now, some of his past battles with the SPLC and the embattled Heidi Byrick. I remember getting a call from Dr. Byrick after we had put together that... Dr. Byrick. That's her name. Yes, she does have a doctorate. Doctologist.
[00:00:56] Wanting to know how we pulled 500 people together for that demonstration at what was then called Forest Park in Memphis right after the Dylann Roof murders. And that was still to this day, it was the second largest gathering. There was one in Ocala, Florida that was larger.
[00:01:18] It was the second largest gathering of people in the aftermath, the recoil of people trying to defend the Confederate monuments and the Confederate heroes after what happened in Charleston. And, but of course, I never called her back. I never called the SPLC back. The SPLC was nipping at our heels from the time we went on the air for years and years and years.
[00:01:42] I think 80 plus articles they wrote about us and they caused so much damage to our credit card processing in the media. They tried to... They were like a bulldog with a bloody bone. They found somebody that they could characterize in a certain way and they just wouldn't give up on it. It wasn't until a thousand other people started doing this 10 years plus after we started it that there was too many moving targets and they lost interest a little bit.
[00:02:11] But, no, I had a lot of interactions with the SPLC. A lot of memories with the SPLC. Well, not a lot of interactions because I would never call them back. But they were always after us and always writing about us. But in any event, I want to talk to you a little bit about what happened after last week's show ended. And this ties into the first hour almost seamlessly because it took place in Montgomery, Alabama.
[00:02:37] So we were down there in Wetumpka, which is about 10 miles away from the Alabama state capital. And on the way home last Sunday morning, the day after the show that everybody heard, I took my son and Eddie was with us, the bombardier, and a couple of people who had driven down from Virginia to be with us, longtime friends and supporters. And I said, we're only 10 miles from downtown Montgomery.
[00:03:05] We need to go see the state capital. There's a lot of history there. But there's more history than maybe you know. Not all the good. Imagine a city block. One city block. And you imagine the four quadrants of that block, each section of the square.
[00:03:28] And in a 0.2 mile square block, you have in the lower right-hand corner of the square, the Alabama state capital, where in February 18th of 1861, Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederate States of America.
[00:03:53] There is still, on the steps of the Alabama state capital, a gold star that marks the spot where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederacy. In front of that is a marker that reads, this is the path that the inaugural procession for President Jefferson Davis followed.
[00:04:20] This is where Dixie was played as a band arrangement for the first time. That all happened right there on that step at the Alabama state capital. Still to this day, a gold star marks the spot where President Davis stood when he was sworn in as our president. So we went to see that. Right around the corner of that, still on the state capital grounds, is one of the most magnificent Confederate monuments,
[00:04:49] a monument to the Confederate Army, each branch of the military, the Confederate Army, the Confederate Navy, the Confederate, you know, on and on. Didn't have an Air Force. You know, they didn't have that. But all of that is there, and it's wonderful. It's breathtaking. It's right there at the Alabama state capital. And there is, at the base of that monument, a stone that reads,
[00:05:19] this cornerstone was laid by Jefferson Davis in the 1880s. So long after the war, but shortly before his death, he went back to Montgomery, just steps from where he was sworn in, and he laid the cornerstone for one of the most magnificent and majestic Confederate monuments, and it still stands on the state house grounds of a capital city in the now-called United States. That's right there.
[00:05:44] You go a block up the upper left-hand corner of this city block, and you have the first White House of the Confederacy, where Jefferson Davis conducted the affairs of state of the Confederacy from February of 1861 until the summer of 1861 when the capital was moved to Richmond. So you have that there.
[00:06:09] Within a five-minute walk, you have the state house of Alabama, the capital of Alabama, where Davis was sworn in, also where George Wallace was sworn in in January of 1963, almost 100 years later, 102 years later. Segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.
[00:06:34] And he even made the comment during that speech, Keith, that he is standing where Jefferson Davis stood. He even brings that up during that actual speech, which was written by the step-grandfather of one of our supporters. It's a Carter. That's not the guy that wrote Outlaw Josie. That's right. Yeah, that's him. Yeah, that's it. The same guy that wrote the screenplay or the book upon which the Clint Eastwood movie,
[00:07:00] the outlaw Josie Wales was based, is also the guy that was a speechwriter for George Wallace. That's exactly right. All that took place there on that quadrant of the 0.2-mile city square block. You go up a little bit, the first White House of the Confederacy. Now then you go to the other side of this square block. On the lower right-hand corner of the square block, you have the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, which is where Martin Luther King was pastor.
[00:07:30] Michael King is his real name, but Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was his given name, as he was trying to use his adopted name. He was not even a Christian. He didn't believe in any of the fundamental tenets of Christianity. He didn't believe that Christ was born of a virgin. He didn't believe in the infallibility. The one thing he believed in was the forgiveness of sins because he had plenty of use for that doctrine. In any event, he was the pastor there within eyesight.
[00:07:57] I mean, we walked there in a minute from where Jefferson Davis stood, where George Wallace stood during the segregation today and now today, tomorrow, forever speech. Right there on the other end of the block is the church where King was pastor from 1954 to 1960, right when it was all kicking off. Basically his effective civil rights career.
[00:08:22] And then you go to the upper right-hand corner of that city square block, and it's the Southern Poverty Law Center's headquarters. And which of those buildings is the ugliest? There ain't no doubt about it. But it's unreal. It's unreal the amount of history right there in Montgomery. Everything in the SPLC headquarters, you know, I don't care if it was for the, you know, the best cause in the world.
[00:08:52] It is a brutalist architecture, and it looks awful. It looks like a flying spaceship or something. And this is, you know, and it's basically a foul blot on what would otherwise be a wonderful historic difference. Even the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church is, you know, nice architecturally. The only foul blot on that whole area is SPLC headquarters. And it's totally out of place. I mean, but there you have it.
[00:09:18] Imagine a city square block, and in each corner of the square, you have the Alabama State Capitol Building. You have the first White House of the Confederacy. You have the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and the SPLC headquarters all in a square block, all right there within the eyesight of one another. It is just unreal. And we went there, and we went to each stop. You know, we went there to each. I mean, I've been to the SPLC building before outside of it. I mean, it's under armed guard. I mean, they have armed security.
[00:09:47] Like, you know, I liken it to this Death Star from Star Wars. They have stormtroopers there guarding it. And, I mean, why would they have to keep under armed guard on a Sunday? Because people that like good architecture are offended by it. And none of our people commit crimes. I mean, that's all, you know, complete fantasy. But, I mean, nobody's going to go up there and damage the SPLC building.
[00:10:16] But, nevertheless, it's under armed, you know, troop guard. They want to keep it there to let people know what type of organization the SPLC is. It's just crazy that you have all that history where the president of the Confederacy was sworn in, where Dixie was played as a band arrangement for the first time, the first White House of the Confederacy, Martin Luther King's Church, and the SPLC headquarters in one block. And we're going to talk to a lady, an Alabamian, who's been fighting on behalf of the Southern cause her entire life, her and her late husband, Butch.
[00:10:46] Pat Godwin will be on with us next. And she's such a dear friend. She was with us, Keith, when we were first cutting our teeth in 05, trying to protect Confederate monuments here in Memphis that they drove up. I've known her forever. This may be the first time she was ever on the show. How did that happen? That's a disconnect. We'll be right back. Hey, folks. It's your friend Harry Cooper here. You know, it always feels like home when I'm on this show, and I want to invite everyone to check out Shark Hunters. Head on over to SharkHunters.com,
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[00:13:00] Ladies and gentlemen, it is my esteemed honor to welcome to the radio program a heroine for the South and our cause,
[00:14:02] Mrs. Patricia Godwin. Pat Godwin is with us tonight. I have known her for virtually all my adult life. I met she and her late husband, the late, great Butch Godwin, for the first time in 2005, when as a radio program, Keith, and as a young adult myself, we were cutting our teeth on, well, really anything and everything,
[00:14:27] but certainly in this context, the defense of what were then the three Confederate parks in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. And she, Pat, and her husband drove up and were standing with us on that fateful day in 2005. And she's with us now. I saw her last week. And I'm just so thankful, Pat, for you to be on with us tonight. How are you tonight, my friend? I'm doing very. Just delighted to be with you. It's an honor to be here.
[00:14:56] And thank you very much for asking me. Well, you're very welcome. There's so much to get into, which we will over the course of the next three segments, about your background and the history and what you all have done down there in Selma. But let's first go back to that initial meeting. We had put out a call for all great members, men and women of the South, to come up to Memphis and help us defend the Confederate parks here in town in 2005.
[00:15:25] It was the first time I met you. I had only been on the air a few months. And we were saying, you know, whenever anybody – we had this new novel thing, an AM talk radio program. And whenever anybody steps up to organize the defense of the parks, we'll be ready to throw in behind them and try to help them support it. And then we kept waiting and waiting and waiting, and nobody was doing that. And Al Sharpton was coming to town, and nobody was doing it. And then we did it, and then we ended up having a nice crowd.
[00:15:55] Met you and your husband for the first time that day. And all these years later, a quarter of a century later, you're on the radio with us tonight. What do you remember about that trip, Pat? Well, I guess one of the most important moments about it was when we were at Confederate Park, and all the way around the park there was bumper-to-bumper police cars.
[00:16:23] I mean, it was the city police of Memphis. It was the county police. It was the mounted police and the SWAT teams. I mean, really. I remember. And so you were beginning to get the feeling that we were not the good guys, that we were the criminals because they courted it off the park, and you were only allowed to go in and out at one corner.
[00:16:55] And we had taken some of our Friends of Forest T-shirts up there, and lo and behold, we were so happy that we did that because every time we turned around, somebody said, hey, where can we get one of those shirts? And so I made three trips back to my car. And every time I had to go through that corner, and they had to remove the ribbon,
[00:17:19] and then when I would come back, so I came back the first time and the second time, everything was just fine, and then they let me through. And then the third time that I came that I had to go back to my car and came back, then they scanned me again. And I even said, hey, this is my third time through here. Y'all got to scan me again?
[00:17:44] And anyway, this officer, and he was one of the county police officers, and so he said yes. And so this lady had the scanner, and she scanned me up one side and down the other. And about that time, the beeper went off. And I thought, well, well, well, wouldn't you know it, the third time's the charm.
[00:18:13] The beeper went off on her scanner. Well, so then, and I don't know if you remember it or not, but our friends Bobby and Belinda Holloway were with us that day too, and sadly they are deceased now too, and they were our best friends. And we went everywhere together, and they were with us really on the campaign trail for General Forrest.
[00:18:38] And so when the beeper went off, he told me I was going to have to lift my shirt. And I said, well, that'll cost you. So anyway, Belinda said, Pat, you better do what he said, because we're not the good guys here. We're the bad guys, and they're protecting the bad guys from us. That's exactly what Belinda said. Let me say very quickly, Keith wants to chime in on this,
[00:19:06] and I just want to say that was my first meeting of the first time to ever be honored to be in the presence of the company of you and your husband Butch and lifelong friends since then. But I should say that our defense of the parks that day, and it was many years later that they actually changed the name, and of course the ghoulish desecration of Forrest's grave,
[00:19:36] that came many years later. We were successful in this particular endeavor we're talking about tonight in pushing back and still keeping these things in play. But it was actually, this made front-page news. I mean, this was a big news story. This made front-page news in the local Memphis paper at the time, and Pat and her husband were pictured front page above the fold there on page A1 of the Commercial Appeal in the wake of this thing.
[00:20:04] But it was something to remember. And, Pat, you know, as I see you again last week at the Southern Cultural Center, and it's just amazing. I was so young back then. I mean, we were all younger. You were just a little kid, weren't you? Yeah, I mean, it seemed like it. Now I'm 46. You know, you round up. That's pushing 50. I saw you when I walked in last week,
[00:20:30] and I saw you at the table with the forest booth. And, man, it just washed over me, these memories, and how fast everything is turning. And just how lucky we have been, and all of us are collective, to have known each other in this life. But your work for so many years with the Friends of Forest Association Incorporated is something we'll talk about as this interview continues. But you were there. That's how we first met, fighting these fights.
[00:20:58] And you've been fighting them in, my God, the darkest belly of the beast in Selma, Alabama, all these years. Thousands and thousands of people coming to your home, Fort Dixie, for the annual Nathan Bedford Forest birthday celebration. We'll talk about all that. But, Keith, I know you want to chime in. Well, I just wanted you to know that karma is real, okay? I believe that, too. The person who later, the person that was heading up the opposition,
[00:21:27] I don't know if she had gotten involved at the point of that particular protest, but she was eventually responsible for getting Forest's statue taken down. Yeah, tell Pat about this. I don't think she knows about this. Yeah, Tammy Sawyer was a younger black woman who made it her cause in life to take down the Confederate monuments. When they were actually taken down more than a decade later, she was the one leading the charge here in Memphis. Yeah, it was called TakeEmDown.org was her organization, and she built that into a political career.
[00:21:58] She was elected to be the General Sessions Court Clerk, and now she has gotten into trouble about some type of malfeasance in the handling of funds in her office. Big news here in Memphis just this year. Yeah, and she has had to. I know you're shocked. She's taken a leave of absence, and she's in the process of being prosecuted on this. She's probably going to go to prison, would you say? Well, let me tell you this. I think they've got the goods on her,
[00:22:28] but everybody's innocent until proven guilty. But on the other hand, you know, meanwhile, you're surviving and thriving, and your nemesis or one of your nemesises has had karma happen, and now they're in hot water. They're at the very least facing a likely prison sentence. I mean, they may beat the rabbits, Memphis. It's, you know, nothing's guaranteed in these courts, that's for sure. But that is an interesting thing you bring up, Keith.
[00:22:55] Well, Pat, I thought you'd find that interesting, that, you know, the people that were trying to persecute you, basically they've had their comeuppance. Well, it is good to know. It really is. However, I haven't experienced that vindication yet here in Selma because my nemesis is still running loose.
[00:23:24] Off the chain. Right. She's off the chain. But she's not as vocal as she has been in the past, I think, number one, because she's getting old. And then her, what I call the rose wannabe, this woman named Joanne Bland, recently she passed away. And so, I don't know if I, maybe I should say this, and maybe I shouldn't say this,
[00:23:52] but, you know, my Christian friends all these years, because I was under so much stress, and, you know, and just, my life was just, our life was just consumed with it every day. And so my friend told me, she said, well, Pat, you just really need to pray. You need to pray for your enemies. And I said, well, I do pray for my enemies, and I do pray that God will let me live long enough that I can go to Rose Sanders' funeral. So I'm waiting.
[00:24:23] But I'm still praying, and I'm still waiting. Well, I'll tell you, let me tell you this, Pat. Pat and I, if I still had social media, I would post the photo. But Pat and I took a photo together in front, just last weekend, in front of a Wallace for Governor sign from 1958. I wish I could post that. Pat, you're looking good. I don't think you're going anywhere soon. We'll be right back. Stay tuned.
[00:24:51] How would you like to help this program reach more people and earn silver at the same time? Call or text 801-669-2211 for complete details. News this hour from Town Hall. I'm Mary Rose. The Energy Department is investing $500 million to modernize a major steel facility in Middletown, Ohio. The Trump administration says the project will protect 2,300 American jobs and strengthen the domestic supply chain.
[00:25:20] Cleveland Cliffs plans to upgrade its blast furnace, generate electricity from mill gases, and recycle industrial byproducts. Supporters call it a step toward restoring U.S. manufacturing and reducing dependence on foreign suppliers, while acknowledging taxpayers shouldn't have to subsidize the industry forever. Richard Boyd reporting. Some war observers believe that President Trump's words could be nearly as influential
[00:25:46] as military force in challenging Iran's ruling regime. Ken Lorman reports. Analysts say President Trump should spotlight the mullah's brutality, corruption, and hypocrisy, including the privileged lives of regime elites abroad. They argue that stronger communication tools, including efforts to bypass Internet blackouts, could help Iranians organize and resist. Supporters believe exposing Tehran's propaganda
[00:26:15] may be critical to turning public anger into a movement for freedom. Ken Lorman reporting. The U.S. has imposed 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods after trade talks between the two countries broke down. Canada responded by announcing retaliatory tariffs set to begin September the 8th. Both sides blamed the other for failing to reach a deal. Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada's measures will target products,
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[00:30:12] Welcome back, everybody. We are back now with, again, Pat Godwin of the Friends of Forest Incorporated. I have known Pat since 2005, and that's going back a minute. She and her husband, Butch, have been just such great representatives and defenders of the South, and that's what we're going to talk about a little bit more now. I talked a little bit in the last segment about how we met and where we met. None of the circumstances.
[00:30:38] Saw Pat again last week when we were doing the remote broadcast from Alabama. Just had to have her on tonight. So, fast-forwarding from Memphis 2005 to everything you were doing in Selma during those years before and since, let's talk about that annual tradition at Fort Dixie.
[00:30:58] Nathan Bedford Forrest was born and lived his early life in Chapel Hill, Tennessee, then down into Memphis where he is most known for having living. Yeah, born there, moved up to Chapel Hill, the boyhood home is still there, and then at Memphis. But Selma is the place where his birthday was celebrated for the last quarter of a century. Tell us about that annual tradition and the ties that Forrest had to Selma.
[00:31:27] Well, actually, Forrest fought the Battle of Selma April 2nd, 1865, against Yankee General James Harrelson Wilson. And he was, of course, outnumbered and outgunned and under, he was, you know, under far superior odds were against him. The battle was, I've always said, the battle was lost before it even began.
[00:31:57] He only had around 3,000 troops or more or less. And James Harrelson Wilson had somewhere between 13,000 and 17,000 of well-fed troops and well-fed horses instead of the art equipment. And the battle didn't last long. But the point in coming to Selma, James Harrelson Wilson wanted to, I've always called him a Sherman wannabe.
[00:32:22] He came to Selma because of the foundry and the Confederate ordinance works. And the Brook Cannon was built here in Selma. The S-5 is still on display here in downtown Selma. It's an authentic S-5. And it was, and S-5 also was on the CSS Tennessee. And, of course, the CSS Tennessee was unclad here in Selma. And it's still at the bottom of Mobile Bay.
[00:32:51] But in the CSS Huntsville, the CSS Tuscaloosa, and a few other ships were ironclad here in Selma. But that was the point. That made Selma a very integral part of the war. We were second only to try to go on works in Richmond, Virginia, in supplying munitions for the war.
[00:33:16] And so that was James Harrelson Wilson's point in coming here, to destroy the foundry, which he did on April 5th. He burned it to the ground. But General Forrest, being under orders of his commanding officer, Richard Taylor, he did his duty and he came to Selma to defend Selma.
[00:33:35] So that's what inspired us to want to defend General Forrest for his bravery and his courage to come to Selma to fight a battle that was virtually lost before he even got here. The messenger was apprehended.
[00:33:54] And one of the scalawags here in town turned in the blueprint of the town and where the breastworks were and sold us out for his own skin. So that was another downer about the battle that day.
[00:34:12] But in spite of that, and with all of the battles that General Forrest fought, and of course we all know he had 29 horses shot off him under him and killed 30 men hand-to-hand combat. Selma was his last official battle and the only battle that he lost.
[00:34:34] But in spite of that, we still felt that General Forrest needed to be honored here in Selma. And so that's what inspired us. And the first birthday celebration was held on the second Saturday in July because we always had it closest to his birthday. Sometimes it fell on his birthday of July the 13th of which he was born in 1821.
[00:35:02] And so the first major fundraiser was here at Fort Dixie in the year 2000. And we had the celebration every year thereafter. And it grew and it grew and it grew and more people came. One year we had 11 states represented. We also had someone here from France. He was an exchange student at the University of Alabama.
[00:35:32] And we also had a gentleman here from Malaysia. And so we were an internationally attended event. And so we were very proud of how the event was always so well received. And so many people looked forward to coming back year after year after year. And that's why we eventually called it our Extended Confederate Family Reunion.
[00:36:00] And as I told you, so many people said that when they would tell people about our event here, they would say, you've just got to go to Fort Dixie because it's an experience. And that just made us feel so good that people felt like that it was a unique experience. And we tried to make it a unique experience for everyone to have a good time. And we always had outstanding speakers of which, James, you were one of them in recent years.
[00:36:27] And we always tried to have someone who might have been a history professor at a college in Tennessee or Mississippi or wherever. And we've had several professors out of Tennessee and are authors who have written books about General Forrest. And so we've really had some prominent speakers. And we always had a live, we had live music of outstanding musicians.
[00:36:57] And we started out, of course, this is an Old South day, just like, you know, having an Old South gathering on the lawn. And so we started out and we used to do homemade ice cream. And, of course, we always had the Piccadini-Freeze watermelon stand. And everybody just loved that. Of course, I got in trouble with a lady from Yale about that.
[00:37:23] She wrote me a very nasty e-mail and called me everything imaginable. Except the child of God. Well, they like watermelons, do they not? I mean, you know, let's be honest here. I mean, everybody likes watermelons. People from Yale like watermelons. You don't like watermelons. You're not Southern, hon. Oh, that's right. But, oh, my goodness. She just really was offended by the Piccadini-Freeze watermelon stand.
[00:37:52] Well, you made her day by giving her an opportunity to do that. And on top of that, she blocked my e-mail so that I couldn't respond. So that was typical. She shut down debate. She did not give me an opportunity to respond to every point that she pointed out in her e-mail to me.
[00:38:14] So that was truly a Marxist attack on me because then I was not allowed to respond. She blocked me. Very quick. Go, Keith. Go, Keith. Yeah. I got some more from you, Pat. I want to share my experience at Fort Dixie, a little bit more about what would happen at that event, your proximity to the SPLC, which ties into the first hour, your experience with the SPLC. We're going to do it all in one segment. But go, Keith.
[00:38:43] I had heard, too, that Selma was the only battle that Forrest lost. He tied Parker's Crossroads and every other battle he was in, he was really the winner. That's right. On the other hand, I heard that some union soldier or something intercepted a courier that had his battle plans in his boots. Is that some urban fable or rural fable, or is that true?
[00:39:10] No, there was a courier that was apprehended, and he had the orders and the layout of the town. And so ultimately that was really, it really played against me. That was the cause of the defeat.
[00:39:32] Exactly, exactly, because he was sending for troops, for backup troops to come and help, but they didn't make it because of this courier being apprehended. But that's not a myth. It is true. Well, I'm glad to hear that. I heard that long ago. It would take something like that for Forrest to lose. You know, the odds be damned and the numbers be damned. That's exactly right.
[00:39:57] And the only thing that was left here in Selma, and he put out the order that every man and young man and boys, if they could hold a gun and fire a gun, they had to defend the town. And the gap in between, it was like every other man that was about 20 feet in between them, nothing but old men and young boys were left here because everyone had gone off to war.
[00:40:26] And so it was... God bless them all. That's right. We hardly had any defense here at all by the time General Forrest got here and his troops. So, excuse me, Pat, we've got to take a quick break. My God. We're talking about with Pat Godwin, she and her husband Butch, putting on for more than a quarter of a century these annual Forrest birthday celebrations at Fort Dixie, which was... Our resident expert on General Forrest.
[00:40:52] Along with Gene Andrews, but Fort Dixie was the name of their home, their ranch. They're in Dallas County, Alabama, near Selma. We'll be right back. Find your inner rebel at Dixie Republic, the world's largest Confederate store, located in Traveler's Rest, South Carolina. The anti-white, anti-Christ, anti-Southern world ends at the asphalt. Welcome to God's country.
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[00:43:17] We dedicate this to our heroine tonight, Pat Godwin. And, Pat, so great to catch up with you last week in Alabama. Not far from your home, but about six hours from ours. And just to see you again, to see old friends and old faces from battles past. See you again after all these years. I hope we have another 25 years left in us.
[00:43:42] And it was just so good to see you manning your table, wearing that Nathan Bedford Forrest pendant that you had on. And I love you dearly. You go back to the very beginning of it for all of us and our first big crush of media attention. And I don't separate you and your incredible husband, Butch, who has been received by our Lord and will join him there one day. And I look forward to seeing him again.
[00:44:09] But what you've done there in Selma, especially Selma. I'll tell you this very quickly. There's so much I want to get through. And we're running out of time. And we've got to have you back. But there are people who man their stations throughout the South, whether it be Gene Andrews at the Nathan Bedford Forrest Boyhood Home in Chapel Hill or Mike Wharton at the Southern Cultural Center in Wetumpka or our friends at Dixie Republic. And you down in Selma at the site of the Battle of Selma. Exactly.
[00:44:35] I mean, our friends at Dixie Republic and Travelers Rest, South Carolina, Pat and Butch at Fort Dixie, people from all around the South. Thousands of people over the years have been to their home for this annual gathering for Nathan Bedford Forrest's birthday. And, Pat, you know, the last time I saw you in Selma was actually a year after I spoke at Fort Dixie and one of the last meetings at Fort Dixie.
[00:45:01] But we were there at the cemetery where the Forrest Monument is at the cemetery in Selma. And I was with Jared Taylor. And I'll never forget this because you were there tending to the graves. And Jared and I drove up with a couple of other folks. And a bird, you know, as birds might do, had relieved itself on one of the monuments. And Jared got up there with a bottle of water because it was hot. He got up there with a bottle of water. And he cleaned that monument with his own hand.
[00:45:30] And we sat there and we talked about that. And we talked about Forrest. And we talked with you and all of your sacrifices over these years. And it was just a moment I'll never forget. Talk to us a little bit about the annual gatherings for more than a quarter of a century at Fort Dixie for Nathan Bedford Forrest's birthday. The features of the event, some of the speakers, the attendees. I can remember when I spoke there, we couldn't find my son. So this was a couple of years ago. My son's only 11 now, so he was a little bit younger then. Couldn't find my son anywhere.
[00:45:59] It was a packed, packed, packed meeting. Line waiting to get the catfish was a mile long. It was just a great. Couldn't find my son, though. Found him up a tree with some other boys they had met there. They'd climbed a tree. It was just a great fellowship. You had music. You had speakers. You had just a celebration of one of the South's greatest heroes. Tell the folks what was happening at Fort Dixie all those years on Forrest's birthday.
[00:46:26] Well, as I said, it became such an event that we felt like it was a family reunion of our extended Confederate family. And every year we had so many people come back, you know, the old faces. They returned. And then we also had new faces. And we made so many friends.
[00:46:49] That was probably one of the main things that Butch and I experienced, that we made so many friends from all over the country. And on top of that, we made so many friends all over the country that we were yet to meet.
[00:47:09] And but the Forrest event here was the main fundraiser for, in the beginning, to build the monument, to establish the monument in Selma. And, of course, its original location was the Smiterman Building Museum, which was a field hospital during the war between the states.
[00:47:32] And that's why it was the most historically accurate and appropriate place for General Forrest's monument. And then, of course, we met with opposition after the dedication. And, as I told you, Mayor Smiterman was all for it. And those details are many.
[00:47:52] There's many, many details about that the very first four years of our campaign to raise money for General Forrest, because we raised the money to pay for the monument. And the monument was dedicated at the Smiterman Building Museum on the 7th of October, the year 2000. And then that was on a Saturday, and a beautiful, beautiful, crisp October morning.
[00:48:20] And the sun was shining so bright, and the mums were beautiful. And it was just a gorgeous day, except for one thing. We had some protesters there to make a mess. And, as a matter of fact, Lee Miller was our first keynote speaker at the original dedication of the Forrest's monument at the Smiterman Building Museum.
[00:48:46] And so that ended up fast-forwarding it for the next four years in a lawsuit against the city of Selma, because they moved the monument to where it is now, Confederate Memorial Circle in historic Olive Oak Cemetery. So we fought that, and we had fundraising then for the litigation for the lawsuit.
[00:49:13] And so we've raised money to build it, we've raised money to defend it, and now we've raised money to preserve it. You know, Pat, this was one of the things we brought up last weekend is that as I get a little older, as we all do every year, I've become a little more nostalgic and sentimental, and you realize that, at least to date,
[00:49:40] there's not a lot of people replacing the old warhorses and the old organizations as they begin to be called home. And what you've done there, and Selma, my God, Selma, of all places. Belly of the beast. Nothing to replace it. I mean, as the crow flies, how far is Fort Dixie from the Edmund Pettus Bridge? About 12 and a half miles. Can you imagine? I mean, doing this thing for the South's greatest hero, Nathan Bedford Forrest, in Selma,
[00:50:10] 12 miles from this mecca of the so-called civil rights. And, of course, Selma hasn't exactly thrived since the Edmund Pettus Bridge, right? Well, let's talk about that with a couple of minutes remaining, and then we'll have you back, Pat, for so much more. I would love to have you do this regularly. But, you know, we were talking together, you and I, last weekend about the SPLC and the downturn that they've experienced and how close you are, of course, there to Montgomery, even from Selma, not too far. And your experiences with the SPLC.
[00:50:40] I mean, just the whole thing. I mean, you know, the legacy of Selma, your association with the SPLC, we've got about two or three minutes remaining. You can take that in any way you want. Well, they've done their best to try to, you know, they've disparaged me, and they've committed character assassination against me, and they've gotten on a local radio station here in town. And, as a matter of fact, I was called a neo-Nazi.
[00:51:11] And, you know, it's been an experience. But with Mark Potok, for example, I did have a telephone conversation with him. I think I told you about that. But I made him so mad while we were – we talked about 40 minutes.
[00:51:37] And, anyway, so I made him so mad that he hung up on me. I've met you. I know that was a terrible disappointment. I've met you, Pat. I know. You and Butch both had that fighting spirit of the South, the light of the South shown within you and Butch. And I just want to give him the credit, too. As you said, you know, you were sharing with me the story at Fort Dixie, all of these birthday celebrations for Forrest that you put on down there.
[00:52:05] And the reason they were in Selma is because you and Butch were there. You were the people who put it together. You were the people – they would have gone anywhere. But they came to Selma because that's where somebody was lighting the fire and was putting on a venue and an event for people to come to. And so they were down there. And, of course, yes, Forrest does have history in Selma. But it was where you were. It was where Butch was. And you said he poured over how the grass was even going to be cut before the people came. You all put that together. You kept it going for a quarter of a century.
[00:52:35] Not enough praise and accolades could be bestowed upon you. And I'm sure that Mark Potok was trying to inflict Dwight guilt upon you, and I imagine his frustration stemmed from the fact that you weren't succumbing to it. Exactly. Well, say another – we have to honor your late husband because if we had more men like that in the South, we wouldn't be in the situation we are now. Do you want to address that with the men that we have remaining?
[00:53:03] Everything that we did, we did together. And if I came up with an idea and I would ask Butch, can we do this, he'd say yeah. And then he could take it a step further and make it better. And we just did everything together. And I had his full support even at the beginning of this when I told him that I wanted to put a monument here for General Forrest and I wanted to go see Mayor Smitherman about it.
[00:53:32] And I asked Butch, did he have a problem with that? Did he think knowing that we would probably be met with controversy, was he ready to defend that? And he said absolutely. Absolutely. So we were always together in mind and in spirit and in everything that we did. And I want to invite everyone that's listening to come to Selma, get in touch with me.
[00:54:01] I would love to give you a tour, my own special deluxe tour of Selma, of Confederate Selma, and see Confederate Memorial Circle. Because Butch maintained that we worked together. Pat, I don't mean to interrupt you. We're coming up. I don't know if you can hear the music. We're coming up on break and I didn't want you to get cut off. But I just wanted to let people know we can get you in touch with Pat.
[00:54:24] Pat, she and Butch were lights and still are lights to the South and more like them. And we cannot fail. They have a wonderful family. They have the boys. And their legacy will be remembered forever. But we'll talk to Pat more about that in subsequent conversations. Pat, thank you so much. Pat Godwin coming on tonight. Pat from Selma, Alabama.