Celebrating President’s Day and Lincoln’s bicentennial has overshadowed the celebration of black history month during the tenure of America’s first black president.In searching for a way to commemorate both, The Daily Reveille offers a discussion relevant to both — and we reserved a space for your opinion as well.Honest Abe was by no means an abolitionist, but was he, as some claim, an “anti-slavery white supremacist?” Did his prejudice disappear after he witnessed the fortitude of black Union troops?On Feb. 12, the editor-in-chief of The Root, enquired, “So which was the real Lincoln, the benevolent countenance hanging on the walls of black people’s homes, the Man Who Freed the Slaves, or this man whom Du Bois was quoting, who seemed to hate black people?”Check out what the peanut gallery had to say, then visit us online at lsureveille.com and tell us what you think.Sean Gonzales, business juniorLerone Bennett Jr., outspoken critic of Lincoln the myth, has made numerous unsettling claims questioning the character and impetus of the 16th president.Throughout his books, Bennett claimed Lincoln habitually used the n-word and supported Black Laws and the Fugitive Slave Act among other things. Bennett refers to the Emancipation Proclamation as a front for “colonization” — a veiled term that meant exporting blacks in the U.S. to Africa or Latin America.Lincoln was, by all means, a racist.Jeff Beben, engineering seniorWhen discussing Lincoln’s racial disposition, it’s best to go directly to the source.Lincoln himself claimed whites and blacks had broader differences than any other two races and it would be better for the races to remain separate. He openly touted his opposition to equality and claimed blacks were not entitled to the natural rights listed in the Declaration of Independence.Others throughout history have given mixed reveiws at best. Frederick Douglas, black abolitionist, noted Lincoln was free from the popular prejudices of his day. But civil rights acitivist W.E.B. DuBois put it best when he called Lincoln “big enough to be inconsistent.”The logical conclusion is Lincoln was a calculating politician, able to play all sides and come out on top of history.Daniel Lumetta, Opinion Editor Though he transcended them, Lincoln was a product of his times.A man caught between extremes — a man blameless in that age.By utilitarian standards, Lincoln was a giant among men. Because the quality of a presidency is determined through the prism of historical hindsight, which lends more consideration to outcome than motivation, the ends shouldn’t matter as much as the means. It’s not the catalyst for his actions but their products that should be measured.Because America is subject to “evolving standards of decency,” Lincoln shouldn’t be blamed for his intolerance.He may have harbored bigoted tendencies, but he did free the slaves. He may have been mistaken in his prejudice, but he did more for blacks than any other person in American history.Lincoln’s morality trumped political expediency and his era’s standards of reasoning.Invoking his memory is not a time for ignorance or hypocrisy, nor is it a time for condemnation. The point is not to neglect awareness or deny legacy but admonish history. But perhaps it’s best to hear it straight from the elephant’s mouth.Abraham Lincoln 16th PresidentFirst inaugural address, March 4, 1861“Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this favored land are still competent to adjust in the best way all our present difficulty…”We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”Next week’s question: Where would you rank George W. Bush among presidents?——Contact The Daily Reveille’s opinion staff at [email protected]