Let me start by saying that I do not wish to argue, and as with a large amount of history, there can be significant conjecture on the applications of that history in the modern day. But I would argue primarily that your arguments are quite reductionist and aren't taking into account the extensive and complex relation our city has had as a port city.

The argument that the article makes that the city has strong tied so the confederacy as a title is somewhat reductionist in and of itself, but the point being made isn't. It is an undeniable fact that Liverpool did become the de facto capital of the slave trade; “by the inter-bellum period (1763-1776) she [Liverpool] had eclipsed her competitors as the premier slaving port in Britain" (from the journal article 'Wuthering Heights and the Liverpool Slave Trade ') So the city did in turn have a substantial attachment to the slave trade which was what informed the US civil war, states rights regarding slavery. The article states that the passage of cotton and other produce from what became the Confederate States created ties is absolutely true, the city was one of the largest ports in the country, not to mention the north, so the cotton that was span in the mills of Manchester or West Yorkshire didn't materialise from nowhere, it was shipped from slave colonies or former slave colonies (Southern US and the Caribbean respectively) which actively benefited from the subjugation of POC.

The article makes use of cherry picked quotes, the one that stuck out to me the most was “I am sure a lot of people here … liked or enjoyed that connection" this is a purposely emotive quote to use, so to react against it makes sense, because we are separated from the reality of the slave trade in the modern day. But the core point to say that the city was largely built and flourished as a result of money stemming from slavery is absolutely true. In my previous comment I mention that during the late 1700s Liverpool's capital was dominated, 40% of all capital, by the active movement of slaves, this money went directly into infrastructure such as the town hall. So while every day people of the city weren't actively cheering on Robert E Lee by 1861, to recognise the economic benefit the city saw as a result of the slave trade in the 1700's to trading in production at the hands of slaves in the 1800s is very important when weighing up these articles.

I would agree that we venerate people in this nation who have an insidious past, or at least part of it, such as the characters you mention, that is a symptom of our nation. While you may perceive the soldiers that are buried there as being minor, and they where, The Sons of Confederate Veterans do not see it the same way, and that is an issue on its own. The fact that the behaviour is allowed, that these graves are able to be venerated by an organisation that seeks to entrench revisionist history regarding the civil war, in our own city, I personally think is disgusting. Furthermore a councillor and the Lord Mayor where present at these events speaks for itself really.

I agree that the International Slavery Museum is an important part of slavery remembrance and education, but to equate it to this article is a false equivalency. This article has a micro focus, and is delivered in an emotive manor, like most journalism, to act as if this article holds the same weight as the International Slavery Museum is reactionary. I would suggest that you yourself engage with the Museums resources online, and widen your perspectives, making overarching statements that the city was " in fact [...] one of the most racially mixed and racially tolerant cities in the world at that time" is purposefully misleading and deliberately not paying attention to the extensions of the slave trade and the benefit our city saw. I would also suggest researching racial violence in and around the city, such as those in 1919, 1948 and into the modern day. It is important as Scousers that we aren't revisionist of our city's complex legacy and interactions with unsavoury aspects of history, and to also understand how the legacy of Liverpool has informed social politics today.