This fall, Visiting Professor of History Ty Seidule presented several lectures, continued his work with the Congressional Naming Commission tasked with renaming Department of Defense assets that honor the Confederate States of America, and has been a guest on WCNY’s Ivory Tower television show.
In September, Seidule was the keynote speaker for the 61st annual wreath-laying ceremony at West Point’s Buffalo Soldier monument. In his talk, he said that the ceremony honors and celebrates “those Black soldiers’ service as United States Colored Troops who fought for their own freedom and to save this great country.”
He said the ceremony is also to make us remember their service to the nation “in segregated units because that was the policy of our government and our army. And that makes me feel uncomfortable. Good! To grow we must be willing to feel uncomfortable,” he added.
Later in the month, as vice chair of the Congressional Naming Commission, Seidule presented a brief to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees on the Naming Commission. The report, the second in the Commission’s three-part final report to Congress, included findings and recommendations about renaming assets at the U.S. Military Academy and U.S. Naval Academy. The Commission has since completed its work.
Seidule was also the keynote speaker for the annual Alexandria Library Company lecture in Virginia; explored the legacy of the American Civil War, its cultural impacts, and the Myth of the Lost Cause in a lecture at the National Portrait Gallery; and presented lectures at Florida Gulf Coast University and Salve Regina University.
He also presented a virtual book talk as part of the 19th annual Six Bridges Book Festival hosted by the Central Arkansas Library System. Seidule’s discussion centered on his 2021 book Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause.
Since August, Seidule has appeared several times on Ivory Tower, a long-running show on WCNY-TV (Public Broadcasting – Syracuse, N.Y.), that features roundtable discussions focused on timely news topics from the perspective of Central New York academics.
He has taken part in discussions on a wide range of topics including U.S. foreign policy, the political climate in the U.S., the NCAA and monetary compensation for athletes, the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and regional business and industry, among others. He also led a discussion of his own work with the Congressional Naming Commission. Ivory Tower is hosted by David Chanatry ’80, a professor of journalism at Utica University.
