Republicans in South Carolina have introduced a piece of legislation that proposes the construction of a monument that would pay tribute to black men who served in the Confederate army, and their actions have drawn the ire of a prominent historian who calls their plans historically inaccurate and an attempt to pretend that African-Americans had rights in the Deep South.

The bill, which was originally proposed in April, reads in part:

“Whereas, all people should know of, and remember, African American Confederate soldiers who served South Carolina and the United States during the War Between the States and others, and it is in fact vital to educate our citizens on their stories during the war and afterwards; and

“Whereas, it is the policy of the State of South Carolina that the history of the African American Confederate soldiers, the depth of their impact in our society, and the triumphs of African American Confederate soldiers and their significant contributions to the development of this State and our nation is the proper concern of all people, particularly students enrolled in the schools of the State of South Carolina.”

But Kevin Levin, a Civil War historian, made it clear in a Twitter thread that the Republicans who have made the proposal for such a monument either don’t know the actual history of blacks in South Carolina at the time or are being willfully ignorant in an attempt to rewrite the real facts:

Republican legislators in the Palmetto State are clearly in need of a long and painful history lesson. Provided, of course, they could put aside their own bigotry and idiocy long enough to actually learn something.