To further drive home the point of this post let’s look at Huey Newton and Nathan B. Forrest. Huey P. Newton was a revolutionary activist who co-founded the Black Panther Party, organizing armed self-defense against police brutality while also building community programs like free breakfasts and health clinics for Black Americans. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a Confederate general during the American Civil War who fought to preserve slavery and later became associated with the early Ku Klux Klan, tied to violent efforts to maintain white supremacy. They represent two completely opposing ideologies in America: Newton stood for resistance against oppression, self-determination, and community empowerment. Forrest stood for the preservation of a racial hierarchy enforced through violence and intimidation. Yet the contradiction is hard to ignore—America often labeled figures like Newton a “threat” or “terrorist,” while Forrest was memorialized, with statues, schools, and honors bearing hi...