Marvin Greer, center, during a recent re-enactment |
There are many weekends when senior history major Marvin Greer is stepping back into time.This story is worth sharing, and good for him to bringing to life one of the more traumatic events of American history. Read the whole thing!
He spends days on Civil War battlefields portraying soldiers – and sometimes slaves – as a Civil War re-enactor. It’s a hobby the Atlanta resident admits isn’t very popular among many of the African Americans he knows.
“I do get stares sometimes,” Greer said. “But I do it to honor my ancestors. I had ancestors who fought in the Civil War, obviously for the Union. I do it because I think I’m telling their story, a story that is often never told.”
It’s something Greer has been interested in since elementary school, when his fifth grade class did a mock battle of Gettysburg and later watched the movies “Glory” and “Gettysburg.”
“That really piqued my interest in African Americans in the Civil War,” he said.
BTW, I consider myself a fan of films Glory & Gettysburg and sadly have not seen either film in years. In fact it seemed as if one while I couldn't get away from Gettysburg as it always seemed to be on TNT on either Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day or Veteran's Day. Time to either download them or buy them on DVD/Blue Ray.