Clif Stratton discussed "A Brief History of Race and the Lost Cause in American Political Memory” at the League of Women Voters of Moscow forum in the Fiske Room of the 1912 Center.

His talk placed in historical context the recent, highly-charged national debates over the removal, relocation, or reinterpretation of public Confederate symbols -- debates that erupted in the wake of the killing of nine African Americans in Charleston, S.C., in June 2015 by an avowed white supremacist. Far from a series of benign discussions concerning “heritage,” Confederate memorialization has always unfolded within the politics of race.

Stratton is a historian of race in America. He is the author of "Education for Empire: Americans Schools, Race, and the Paths of Good Citizenship" (2016), and is currently working on a new project titled "Race and the Atlanta Braves from Summerhill to Cobb County." He teaches history at Washington State U​​niversity and is from Atlanta, Ga.