GEN LEE'S TROJAN HORSE

Nathan Fenno reporting for the Los Angles Times August 19:

"When Richard Saukko galloped his chalk- white Arabian horse named Traveler around the Los Angles Memorial Coliseum almost 56 years ago, it was suppose to be a one time stunt.

Instead the brief performance before USC kicked off its season against Georgia Tech turned into one of college football's iconic traditions. A succession of white horses named Traveler have followed --Traveler IX debuts this fall....But during a rally earlier this week to show solidarity in the aftermath of the violence in Charlottesville, Va., a USC campus group linked the name to Confederate General Robert E. Lee whose favorite horse was Traveller

At the rally , according to the student newspaper the Daily Trojan, Saphia Jackson co-director of the USC Black Student Assembly, asked students not to be quiet, and reminded that "white supremacy hits close to home", and referenced the name of the Trojan's mascot...

The problem is this : maybe three week ago it was fine [his widow] Pat Saukko DeBernardi said. "So now the flavor of the day is...we all have to be in hysteria..Its more of a political issue. The horse isn't political and neither am I".

She also noted that the name of Lee's well known horse included an extra "L"and , besides Traveler was already named when her late husband purchased him."

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