A small number of states in the South observed Confederate Memorial Day this week and Trevor Noah has a few questions for those who decided to celebrate.
“First of all, the Confederacy fought the Civil War to defend slavery,” the “Daily Show” host said Wednesday night. “Why would you honor that? Secondly, what are black people supposed to do on this holiday?”
Noah attempted to unpack the controversial holiday during Wednesday’s episode, but he couldn’t get past the racial undertones of the Confederacy. He even found a stunning similarity between all the people who spoke out against the holiday on local news channels. (They’re all black.)
The host did try to cut some slack for those who genuinely believe that Confederate Memorial Day celebrates their ancestors’ history and somehow doesn’t honor white supremacy. But, as Noah pointed out, that’s a hard case to make when some confederate monuments literally have the words “white supremacy” engraved onto them.
Noah also addressed the threats that workers tasked with taking down these types of statues have received, showing just how serious some people are about defending the Confederacy.
“City officials are wearing full body armor because they’re afraid that radicals with extreme beliefs might kill them,” he said. “I wish there was a word to describe those kinds of people.”
But the “Daily Show” host didn’t just bash the state holiday. He also offered some suggestions to make the Confederate Memorial Day ― and those racist monuments ― fair for everyone.
“If it’s all part of your history, then maybe you should include all of the history,” Noah said. “If you want to have the monument, then you should have to have a slave next to it ― for context!”
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