The police killing of George Floyd sparked widespread protests and reignited efforts across the U.S. to remove Confederate and other statues viewed as symbols of slavery and racism. When it was founded, there was a lot of discussion about how it was important to have representations of leaders of civic virtue in the space where our current leaders are, so they have an example to strive for. As goes the South, so goes the nation: Tennessees HIV cuts are a warning for marginalized populations, Florida, Oklahoma double down on the death penalty we need nationwide abolition now, Supreme Court to consider overruling Chevron doctrine, Tucker Carlson, on leaked video, derides Fox streaming service, Al Franken blasts Supreme Court: Its illegitimate, Senate rankings: Here are the 5 seats most likely to flip, Human brains show larger-than-life activity at moment of death. They are both excellent candidates for the kind of contextualization you alluded to. There are many other people who deserve statues that better represent the countrys historical progress and diversity. Workers in Richmond, Va., removed a statue of. Khushbu Shah, Atlanta's Confederate Monuments: How Do Context Markers Help Explain Racism?, theguardian.com, Aug. 3, 2019, 25. Answer: We have to distinguish what kind of monuments were talking about. Monuments to men who advocated cruelty and barbarism to achieve such a plainly racist end are a grotesque affront to these ideals. Only one battle was fought in the larger history wars between Columbus and Rome. These men who are depicted as heroes fought for the institution of slavery. Many of Americas founders George Washington, Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. Defend the existence of confederate statues as ways of honoring the past with the United Daughters of the Confederacy, an organization devoted to the memory of Confederate soldiers. They serve as a constant reminder of who we are and what we believe in. On the one hand, some argue that they are historical landmarks and should be preserved. I think on these two, Washington and Jefferson, in particular, you take the bitter with sweet. If we disqualified all figures because we now reject their societys practices, we would commemorate few people indeed, and we would deprive ourselves of many sources of inspiration. Neil Vigdor and Daniel Victor, "Over 160 Confederate Symbols Were Removed in 2020, Group Says," nytimes.com, Feb. 23, 2021, 56. A statue must be erected on land that is yours and have the authority to do so. A copy of the Statue of Liberty was damaged in Valencia, so it was removed from the citys streets. [47] Do we exclude the achievements of these figures from public display because they displayed controversial behavior? Source: Abdazizar. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. John Daniel Davidson, Why We Should Keep The Confederate Monuments Right Where They Are, thefederalist.com, Aug. 18, 2017, 37. Some people argue that these statues are a reminder of the countrys history and should be left in place, while others believe that they are a symbol of oppression and should be removed. In the United States, Confederate generals were overthrown or voted out. I have a complex relationship with monuments, said Diaz, now a world-renowned poet. 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Arguments For And Against Removing Confederate Statues, Robert E. Lee opposed Confederate statues. [41]. Yet, this is not the first time . So for instance, a lot of the sort of backlash against taking down Confederate statues was precisely this. As for museums, people I know who work in museums tear their hair out about this suggestion, that somehow, were going to ship all these Confederate monuments off to the lucky museum that has to find a place to put them. We should let them stand and use them to remind ourselves of what we are and are not, the cost our forebears paid for our freedom and to educate our children. [38], During the protests following the death of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, many Confederate statues were damaged or toppled, as were statues of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Ulysses S. Grant. Ive said it before: There is an important difference between helping to create the United States and trying to destroy it. As a result, the monumentos, as well as the ellos located in the various areas of the city, are erigen within the context of the community. 3. First and foremost, they are part of our history and should be preserved as such. Since Black Lives Matter protests began in response to Columbuss legacy, a number of statues of him have been removed. The Confederate symbols and associated values that Americans hold in high regard are paid for by them. He was not forgotten or disgraced, but he was not a forgotten figure because he was one of Venezuelas most revered rulers. Here are the proper bibliographic citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): [Editor's Note: The APA citation style requires double spacing within entries. If so, how? Yes, other celebrated Americans were also deeply wrong about slavery, but they aspired to something greater. Those who argue in favor of keeping political statues in public spaces typically make the following points: 1. Confederate monuments, in our society, are an artifact from an era gone wrong. Evan Andrews, How Many U.S. Presidents Owned Enslaved People?, history.com, Sep. 3, 2019, 45. Q: How do we decide what stays and what goes? Mount Vernon, Slavery, mountvernon.org (accessed July 7, 2020), 40. Similar oppressive and revisionist messages are promoted by historical statues of presidents such as slave-owning presidents or emperors such as Christopher Columbus. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Bethunes is the first state-commissioned statue of a Black person to be included in Statuary Hall. It has also been suggested that statues shouldn't be removed but new plaques could be added which explain why the person is controversial, for example reflecting both the good and bad things. For many years people have been arguing whether certain controversial monuments, such as statues, should be destroyed or removed. The Recycling Economic Information (REI) Report found that, in a single year, recycling and reuse activities in the United States accounted for 757,000 jobs, $36.6 billion in wages and $6.7 billion in tax revenues. Heres how we fight back. Explain your answer with examples and reasoning. Q: What can you tell us about Americas history with monuments and memorials? So what should be the standard for taking down a statue? Donald Trump, Twitter.com, June 30, 2020, 35. Manisha Sinha, a Civil War historian at the University of Connecticut, says when it comes to, say, Robert E. Lee, take it down. Thats a lot of money for one city to pay for, and that money could be used for more important things. In fact, even Robert E. Lee opposed Confederate statues. They should be removed from public spaces because they serve as a reminder of the negative effects of racism and bigotry, as well as a symbol of how far we have come since the colonial era. Beyond building monuments to honor black Americans, monuments could employ and elevate living black artists, such as Kehinde Wiley, whose 2019 Rumors of War statue depicts a black man on horseback in a pose reminiscent of statues of Robert E. Lee. CBS News, Protesters in England Topple Statue of Slave Trader Edward Colston into Harbor, cbsnews.com, June 7, 2020, 8. UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: When do we want it? The statue in this state refers to the state constitution or an act of the legislature or initiative or referendum. Here's What to Know, time.com, June 24, 2020, 2. Protesters next to a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Va. The media should publish their anniversaries and conduct tests based on their significance. The Confederate monuments and statues should be removed not only because they are offensive and outdated, but also because they represent Virginia in the 1890s rather than in the 21st century. Stephen E. Ambrose, Founding Fathers and Slaveholders, smithsonianmag.com, Nov. 2002, 43. Several years have passed since the debate over the removal of Confederate statues began. An FHA loan is a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). 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In June 2021, the US House of Representatives voted to remove all confederate statues and bust of Roger B. Taney (the US Supreme Court Chief Justice who wrote the Dred Scott decision) from the US Capitol's Statuary Hall. 2. Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. https://www.britannica.com/story/pro-and-con-historic-statue-removal-in-the-united-states, According to theSouthern Poverty Law Center. Does this moment, and these efforts feel different to you? There are a variety of reasons why Confederate monuments should be removed from public spaces. The statues do not cause racism and could be used to fight racism if put into historical context. While most Americans watch helplessly, ourstateside Taliban vandalizes and removeslong-standing public monuments. In response to a question posed by The Daily Mail, the Queen Mothers statue in Trafalgar Square should be chosen. Linda Lopata, If Susan B. Anthony Was Racist, susanb.org (accessed July 7, 2020), 47. Since this fundamentally conflicts with American values and ideas, they should be removed. They are not an accurate representation of our countrys diverse population. If there are statues of black Americans in the future, such as Kehinde Wileys 2019 statue of a black man riding horseback in a pose similar to those of Confederate statues, they could be built. Does removing statues of Columbus or Confederate officials pave the way for action against monuments honoring those who helped create the United States? An 1884 Confederate monument to General Robert E. Lee is removed from Lee Circle in New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 19, 2017. A: What we choose to memorialize speaks to our values as a society, and often, certain populations are excluded entirely from that. They are a reminder of our countrys dark and oppressive history. In several cities, these tributes have been vandalized or torn down by protestors or removed by public officials. These monuments are controversial because they are seen by some as honoring the Confederacy and its pro-slavery and white supremacist policies and by others as historical markers of the nations history. Because civil rights groups have grown in prominence, the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) dedicated a monument to Shepherd, a so-called faithful slave. Is there a higher moral cause that supersedes the law? A black resident of Richmond, Virginia, Tommye Finley, remarked of the citys Monument Avenue, which is home to five Confederate statues, When I first moved here from Mississippi, I thought these statues were ridiculous. Southern Poverty Law Center, Whose Heritage? Author of "Drones and Terrorism.". As Rod Dreherargues in The American Conservative,Americans should not make the same mistakes as France. The statues can be kept without glorifying what they once stood for. [4], As Karen Cox, PhD, Historian of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, concludes, The state is giving the stamp of approval to these Lost Cause ideas, and the money is a symbol of that approval. Q: Are there any monuments that, even though they send a message most agree is now outdated or harmful, should still be kept as a kind of reminder of what not to do, or what we have overcome? These statues not only glorify anti-abolitionists but they remind people of the strong racism of the time. I got more interested in the U.S. history of monuments when I started to look around and wonder where all the neoclassical buildings came from. What Should Take Their Place? [14] [55], In June 2021, the US House of Representatives voted to remove all confederate statues and bust of Roger B. Taney (the US Supreme Court Chief Justice who wrote the Dred Scott decision) from the US Capitols Statuary Hall. [37], Lawrence A. Kuznar, PhD, Professor of Anthropology at Indiana UniversityPurdue University Fort Wayne, states, removing Confederate statues amounts to whitewashing our history, turning our heads away from the inconvenient truths of our past. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. There has been much debate over which statues should be taken down, and whether this is an effective way to combat bigotry. Charisse L'Pree, Racial and Gender Exclusion from Media Affects Novel Group Identity; An Experimental Investigation of Symbolic Annihilation, sites.google.com/site/charisselpree2 (accessed July 8, 2020), 29. The standard traditionally applied is as follows: When deciding whom to commemorate by statues, place names, monuments, holidays, currency, or coins we select individuals who performed extraordinary feats that, on balance, made the world a better place. There is an issue which has sparked some conflict which is based on the topic of whether or not Confederate Statues and Confederate symbols should be removed due to the background that they represent. One claim for not removing certain statues of people who have committed egregious acts is that we should not treat people of another time as if they were second-rate citizens. Adam Serwer, The Myth of the Kindly General Lee, theatlantic.com, June 4, 2017, 19. Following the murder of George Floyd, I think we started to see a broader recognition of how statues in civic spaces can exclude certain people. Its a pleasure to be a part of the politics of Los diferentes estrellas de la Avenida. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. The issue rose to prominence again in 2017 after an Aug. 12 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned violent and deadly. Jos Vasconcelos and Jos Enrique Rod have been appointed as ambassadors, and they have been actively involved in the work of the United Nations. All rights reserved. First, removing all these statues and monuments cost a lot of money and take a long time. The Confederate Monument to Robert E. Lee Is Removed from Its Perch, Creative Commons, May 19, 2017, While the debate whether Confederate statues should be taken down has been gaining momentum for years, the issue gained widespread attention after the June 17, 2015, mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. For one thing, it can be a close question whether a persons extraordinary feats made the world a better place: Franklin D. Roosevelt is widely commemorated, even though scholarsstill argueover whether his leadership during the Great Depression actually improved American life. Hecho comn is a part of the Venezuelan Revolution that ended with Hugo Chvezs election as President of the Republic of Venezuela (Y). It is no surprise that he is not fondly remembered by his descendants, who consider themselves natives. GREENE: Historian Manisha Sinha is the author of "The Slave's Cause: A History Of Abolition.". [35]. As James Grossman, PhD, Executive Director of the American Historical Association, notes, Its not just that the statues represent white supremacy, but the purpose of building the statues was the perpetuation of white supremacy. But the traditional standard does help minimize political manipulation of history. [49], Author Sophia A. Nelson, JD, who notes she is the granddaughter of a slave, states that she does not fear 150-year-old statues of old dead white men. Nelson argues that her classmates at Washington & Lee University didnt hate [black students] because there were statues of Robert E. Lee or George Washington (our nations first President and a slave owner) on campus. They glorify people who were responsible for terrible things. Its also important to distinguish statues from records of history, because thats not what theyre about. GORDON-REED: No. Their statues pay homage to hate, not heritage. GAZETTE: What about the slippery slope argument? The renewed division between the two civil rights groups followed the war. Last modified on July 14, 2022. [26] A monument to the victims of slavery has also been suggested. A: Theres certainly a school of thought that says so, that maybe they could be taken out of civic spaces and put into a museum where they can be recontextualized. On July 13, 2022, a statue of Mary McLeod Bethune was dedicated in Florida in place of the Confederate soldier statue. The Confederate statues were put up when they were put up [not just after the war but largely during periods of Civil Rights tension in the 20th century], to send a message about white supremacy, and to sentimentalize people who had actively fought to preserve the system of slavery. They can be offensive and hurtful to certain groups of people. GREENE: Professor, thank you so much for your time. He freed that slave. According to theSouthern Poverty Law Center(SPLC), 59 Confederate statues and nine markers or plaques were removed from public land in 19 US states between June 17, 2015 and July 6, 2020. The removal in recent years of several monuments depicting Confederate leaders and other controversial historical figures by both politicians and unsanctioned activists have generated debate over whether their removal is justified. 4. 5. Taneys bust was replaced with one of Thurgood Marshall. The statues were built to honor and enforce white supremacist views, and the intent or damaging effect have not been erased by time. Personally, I think there are other ways to remember our racist history as a society. Who Was He?, cnn.com, June 11, 2020, 7. And then he went on, in fact, to defeat the Confederacy, which was extremely important in the destruction of slavery. Brian Palmer and Seth Freed Wessler, The Costs of the Confederacy, smithsonianmag.com, Dec 2018, 5. The main duty is not to hide the bitter parts. I understand the importance of remembering those who died fighting for both sides of the war. belleville shooting news, is kate thwaites related to john thwaites, ,