Alabama has five official earth symbols, including an official fossil and soil.
The beautiful star blue quartz was designated the official gemstone. The official mineral, hematite (red iron ore), is not nearly attractive but is far more valuable.
The official rock, marble, is valuable precisely because of its beauty. Ironically, Sylacauga marble from Alabama was used in the construction of the Lincoln Memorial.
Still, many black people revere Lincoln as the man who freed their ancestors. However, Native Americans have a very different story to tell.
The irony lies in the fact that Abraham Lincoln was a racist who plunged the nation into its most disastrous war ever in order to preserve the federal bureaucracy. To sell his war, Lincoln broadcast the message that he wanted to end slavery.
In fact, the Civil War did end slavery, though it would be another century before black people were allowed to vote. Moreover, the U.S. is said to be the only country that fought a war to end slavery; other leaders figured out ways to end it without bloodshed.
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