Take away these men who seem to be inferior to Roosevelt, but leave him. The fact that pro-Confederate sentiments have become unpopular is. All rights reserved. GORDON-REED: Ha! Consider appealing to the American Alliance of Museums for the use of the statues removed from public display. SINHA: I've been against it all along. Eventually, police descended on the. The victors, the thousands of soldiers black and white in the armed forces of the United States, died to protect this country. [56], When 11 Southern states seceded from the Union in 1861, they were very clear that the reason was the impending abolition of slavery. The movement against him is part of a wider drive to get rid of monuments to figures who are now. Senior Editor at Arc Digital. The Robert E. Lee monument, erected several decades after the Civil War to commemorate the Confederate general, was recently removed following more than a year of protests for racial justice. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. It is also important to remember there is a difference between removing the statues and destroying them. McCarthy to Russian reporter: I do not support what your country has done to Saudi alfalfa sparks tension in Arizonas Sonoran Desert, Rice's departure brings relief to immigration advocates, Watch live: White House monkeypox response team holds briefing, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Though they may represent history, the history that they represent is done in . I cannot see myself pulling down a statue in that way. Q: What can you tell us about Americas history with monuments and memorials? There is one major distraction when it comes to removing statues that detracts from the larger issue at hand: the notion that removing a statue is an act of historical cleansing. As contemporaries, Cecil Rhodes and King Leopold II were both harshly criticized for their racist behaviors. So to me, if statues are performing this work of showing us what we most value as a society, once our values change, no, we shouldnt keep them. Question: Why do we have monuments and memorials? Iconoclasm is not new; its been going on for thousands of years in different circumstances, Lamp said. And the vast majority of these statues were erected during the height of the Jim Crow movement, as historian Kevin M. Kruse has shown. Washington owned over 300, Jefferson over 600, and Grant worked on his wifes family plantation and inherited one slave upon his father-in-laws death. Protesters for. The interpretations have been contradictory, and the results are presented in the form of commentaries. And I also grew up hearing stories from my family or reading in archives the terrible things those men did to my people.. Here's What to Know, time.com, June 24, 2020, 2. I think on these two, Washington and Jefferson, in particular, you take the bitter with sweet. On the other hand, others argue that they are offensive and should be removed. but They Should Remain., washingtonpost.com, Aug. 18, 2017, 39. The Lee statue had been designated a historic monument, so people thought that would protect it from removal, but the governor of Virginia said, no, were taking it down. By removing them, we can censor, whitewash, and potentially forget about the history. 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. In later years, Lee alsodistinguished himself as an educator: As president of the institution that is nowWashington and Lee University, he was largely responsible for fashioning the modern college honor code. At the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth, a significant portion of anti-imperialist and Bolivarian thinking was based on those ideas. Ive been studying the impact of Black Lives Matter on statues and memorials around the world for the past few months. SINHA: Well, I think it is important not to go from one extreme to the other. Statues elevate a person from a historical event rather than demystify it. The Mdia Exterior de Chvez highlights how the country responds to its problems: through its actions, the country seeks to advance human rights, including the rights of foreigners, as a result of the decreto de 1817. A: Thats such a complex issue. Rebecca Klar, Arthur Ashe Statue on Richmond's Monument Avenue Tagged with White Lives Matter Graffiti, thehill.com, June 17, 2020, 50. The rally protested the proposed removal of statues of Confederate Army Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Venezuelas mezcla is characterized by a lack of eclecticism, as well as a widespread, general sense of izquierda. The argument is that these statues glorify individuals who have harmed marginalized groups, and that they should be removed from public spaces. 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. Catherine Thorbecke, Walmart donates $100K to replace Arkansas' Confederate-linked statues at the US Capitol, abcnew.go.com, July 7, 2020, 32. Arguments for why Confederate statues should be removed include the Confederacy's shameful history of treason and white supremacy, as well as the original purpose of these statues, which was to intimidate Black Americans while celebrating white power. There is no easy answer to this question, as there are pros and cons to both sides. Here in Washington, D.C., last night, protesters in Lafayette Square right by the White House tried to take down a statue of President Andrew Jackson. An 1884 Confederate monument to General Robert E. Lee is removed from Lee Circle in New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 19, 2017. That, my friends, is what we must work toward eradicating. [50], Ellis Cose, Senior Fellow at the ACLU, states that the statues should remain, with plaques and other material in place that point out that these men were traitors, not American heroes, and that their ugly legacy haunts us still. Elliot Ackerman, The Confederate Monuments We Shouldnt Tear Down, nytimes.com, July 7, 2020, 49. What did the Civil War mean for both the Union and the Confederacy? A statue of Cecil Rhodes being removed from the University of Cape Town campus, South Africa, 2015. Richard Allen Greene, King Leopold II Statues Are Being Removed in Belgium. Their statues pay homage to hate, not heritage. The First Amendment protects everyones speech, not just the speech approved by the majority. How do we know if statues are supposed to tell the story of our ancestors? FHA loans have more relaxed credit score requirements than traditional mortgages. Thats not fair, asking me as a law professor. No logr derribarla. 4. Moving such monuments to museums or other places where they can be contextualized and interpreted is a goal of the National Trust. 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. The statues are a painful reminder of past and present institutionalized racism in the United States. In response to a question posed by The Daily Mail, the Queen Mothers statue in Trafalgar Square should be chosen. Annie Grayer and Clare Foran, "Statue Honoring Mary McLeod Bethune Unveiled in Statuary Hall in US Capitol,". Anti-racist protesters want to remove statues that were erected at the peak of Jim Crow segregation in the United States and at the peak of colonial expansion. In recent years, there has been a movement to take down statues of historical figures who have been accused of racism, sexism, and other forms of bigotry. And then he went on, in fact, to defeat the Confederacy, which was extremely important in the destruction of slavery. There are now more than 30 statues and monumental pieces in his honor in the United States. A: My first book (A City of Marble) was about the Roman emperor Augustus and how he used the built environment to shape civic identity at a time of great change for Rome. More than half of Americans support removal of Confederate statues, but 44% still think they should remain. Nellie Peyton, As the Men of Stone Fall, Who Should Rise up and Take Their Place?, news.trust.org, July 2, 2020, 33. Aishvarya Kavi, Activists Push for Removal of Statue of Freed Slave Kneeling Before Lincoln, nytimes.com, June 27, 2020, 20. Go toProCon.orgto learn more. It is unfortunate that they are considered public art works rather than memorializing them. The ceremony was whites only, and featured children forming a Confederate flag and singing Dixie.. The campaign to remove controversial monuments and memorials has attracted a lot of criticism - charges that we are "erasing" history or imposing our own values and perspectives on people . History is almost never the sole motivator for the construction of schools. The stone sentinels that dot our landscape serve as artifacts of the past, providing us with a visual sign of where we may still go. [39] [40] [41], However, Washington led the Continental Army to victory over the British, held together the country as the first President over two terms, resisted calls to become King of the country, and, in his will, freed his slaves upon his wifes death. NPR Morning Edition, For Stanton, All Women Were Not Created Equal, npr.org, July 13, 2011, 46. Following the white nationalist rally in Virginia on August 12, 2017, it was back in the news. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Monuments of Hope, Memorials to a Poisoned Past, britannica.com, May 25, 2018, 23. A statue of Lord Charles Colston was erected in Britain more than 60 years before slavery was abolished there. The intention was to intimidate Black while reinforcing white power structures in America. procon@eb.com, 2023 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Heres a List., nytimes.com, Aug. 28, 2017, 6. For proof, just look at the 1911 dedication of a Jefferson Davis statue in New Orleans. When I found out they were taking the statue down, it was close to my birthday and felt like a lucky birthday present, Diaz said. Yet, this is not the first time . Confederate monuments, in particular, hold religious, cultural, economic, and political values. "Historic Statue Removal Top 3 Pros & Cons." Taking them down is to censor, whitewash, and potentially forget that history. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. PRO: These monuments should be removed because they honor slavery and segregation CON: Confederate monuments should stay because they connect past racial crimes to current racial inequality Nearly every heavy-crane company in southern Louisiana has received threats from opponents. To the best of our knowledge, no resistance is shown in 1895 in the Neapolitan pieza de mrmol; all hecha pedazos must be resisted. I understand the importance of remembering those who died fighting for both sides of the war. Annette Gordon-Reed, JD, Professor of American Legal History at Harvard University, explained, There is an important difference between helping to create the United States and trying to destroy it. [42], Jefferson is the author of two of our most dear principles as a country: equality and religious freedom. [45] [46] Martin Luther King, Jr. regularly cheated on his wife. I think the difference that George Floyd's murder has made and that's been a bit heartening for me is that ordinary American citizens have finally realized what these statues symbolize and how they have been a standing affront for African Americans and their quest for equal citizenship in this country because Black Americans have always been against it. The shooter was said to have glorified the Confederate South, posing in Facebook photos with the Battle Flag of the Northern Virginia Army (also known now as the Confederate flag, though it never represented the Confederate States) and touring historical Confederate locations before the shooting. The racial subjugation systems he developed as a principal architect are still prevalent in southern Africa. Lawrence A. Kuznar, I Detest Our Confederate Monuments. The statues were built to honor and enforce white supremacist views, and the intent or damaging effect have not been erased by time. Removing statues is a slippery slope that could lead to the brash removal of monuments to any slightly problematic person. While most Americans watch helplessly, ourstateside Taliban vandalizes and removeslong-standing public monuments. The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill, by Rob Natelson, opinion contributor - 09/20/17 7:40 AM ET, First Republic fallout: Democrats fume as regulators bail out yet another failed bank, Yellen says drop-dead date for debt ceiling is June 1, Hunter Biden appears in court for paternity case, Big birds are having fewer chicks as climate changes, AI chatbot outperforms human doctors in responding to patient questions, Bidens plan to address migrant surge may make it worse, Who will replace Tucker Carlson at Fox News? Confederate monuments were put up in response to Blacks getting more rights, as a kind of a backlash. Theres no doubt that with regime change, monuments are removed, place names are changed, portraits are added to postal stamps, and textbook content changes. [26]. There are pros and cons to removing statues. A year after the United States had a diplomatic confrontation with Venezuela, Washington had a diplomatic confrontation with Caracas, and Venezuela had a diplomatic confrontation with Washington. We see this in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol. Ultimately, as far as who gets to decide, I think activism is what gets it done. In the 1930s and 1940s, revolutionary and reformist forces distrusted Columbus statues because they had been erected with a clearly racist and Eurocentric spirit. People on both sides vigorously defend their position, pointing out disturbingfacts about the Founding Fathers and the founding of America as reasons why the Confederate monuments arent so different from Revolutionary monuments. Juan De Anda, Why Representation Matters Now, mediapost.com, April 21, 2020, 28. Lee was distinguished from his contemporaries by an exemplary career, both in the U.S. and Confederate armies, of competence and honor. I think it dishonors them to celebrate the men who killed them and tried to kill off the American nation. Photo courtesy of Getty Images/iStockphoto, (480) 965-9657 There are a variety of reasons why Confederate monuments should be removed from public spaces. They can be offensive and hurtful to certain groups of people. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., PhD, Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University, notes that enduringly charged symbols of the former Confederacy [add] to our fears that, instead of embracing the promise of democracy in a diverse society, some want to return us to a far more restrictive time, when freedom was circumscribed by race. [22], We cant get to learning from our history if we keep accepting that racism should be celebrated in American history, according to Khalil Gibran Muhammad, PhD, Professor of History, Race and Public Policy at Harvard University [1]. A statue must be erected on land that is yours and have the authority to do so. Copyright 2020 NPR. When activists deface statues, ultimately what theyre doing is forcing the citys hand so that they either have to put money into restoration, which doubles down on whatever message that monument is sending, or they can just remove it. For example, a statue of black abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass was damaged over the July 4, 2020 weekend in Rochester, New York. His policies were also deadly for thousands of Native Americans. I think the problem with that is that the balance of power in communities can be really problematic. The statues can be kept without glorifying what they once stood for. These are various statues across the US which honor Confederate leaders or "heroes". 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. Heres how we fight back. Note: Responses have been edited for length and clarity. Adolph Hitler gets none, although he was kind to dogs. You said that moving to statues like George Washington and the Founding Fathers is going from one extreme to another extreme. They represent the establishments value system at any given time, regardless of the circumstances. 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. The plaques can not only detail the history of slavery and the Civil War, but also the white segregationist history that promoted the building of such statues to promote the revisionist Lost Cause history. GAZETTE: In the past, people have suggested the monuments should stay, but that additional plaques or other information should be incorporated to add context. Pros And Cons Of Removing Confederate Statues. [41]. For many years people have been arguing whether certain controversial monuments, such as statues, should be destroyed or removed. Jack Jenkins, How the Charleston Shooting Is Linked to the Confederate Flag, According to A South Carolinian, thinkprogress.org, June 19, 2015, 3. Also removed from the monument's base was a 133-year-old copper time capsule containing artifacts and ephemera related to the Confederacy. They honored racial prejudice. Regardless of whether historic statues are removed or remain, what sort of statues, memorials, or other art would you like to see in public spaces? Linda Lopata, If Susan B. Anthony Was Racist, susanb.org (accessed July 7, 2020), 47. Memorials serve as a permanent reminder of our values, as well as a place to honor and display them in public. Were holding them up as a model of civic identity, of what the rest of us should be doing. According to the poll, in August 2017, 39% supported the removal of Confederate statues compared to 52% who wanted to get rid of them in June. 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. Two hospitals may have violated federal law in denying woman an emergency From bad to worse: Student misbehavior rises further since return of in-person McConnell insists hes sitting out debt talks to disbelief. We can do that. David Greene talks to Manisha Sinha, professor of American history at the University of Connecticut, about the recent toppling of non-Confederate statues like those of George Washington. 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. They can be kept in museums with proper historical context rather than on a plinth to be admired. It depends on who the person is and what the objections are. The state's governor introduced legislation in April 2020 to allow cities to remove statues, paving the way for a US$10 million (7.2 million) plan to transform Richmond Virginia's famous . Explain your answer with examples and reasoning. Brian Palmer and Seth Freed Wessler, The Costs of the Confederacy, smithsonianmag.com, Dec 2018, 5. 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. Then youre asking museums to do a lot of work they dont want to do and maybe shouldnt be doing. The slippery slope goes further, allowing anyone to destroy any statue they disagree with. Politics plays a role in answering close questions. [10] [11] [12], Washington, Jefferson, and Grant had undeniable ties to slavery. Confederates died defending slavery as an institution. Last week, protesters swarmed the statue, trying to topple it with two small ropes (seemingly impossible to anyone who has seen the massive monument up close). An FHA loan is a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). They can be used as a teaching tool to help educate people about different periods in our past. The Removal of All Confederate Statues, Flags, Symbols in America; The topic should be a controversial social issue. The Onion looks at the pros and cons of removing historical statues. Admittedly, the traditional consensus is not an infallible guide to deciding whom to commemorate. Should historic statues be taken down? GREENE: But what about historical figures with complicated, often racist histories who were also Union generals or former presidents? Defunding the humanities, cutting history classes and departments. Confederate symbols and flags have been removed from public display in the South since the end of the Civil War. Their actions also took a violent turn, as when revolutionaries murdered bishops and priests who refused to sign a loyalty oath. The result is that, as a result, the Primera Guerra is no longer averse to it. On the other hand, others argue that they are offensive and should be removed. Make sure to visit the Southern Poverty Law Centers Whose Heritage: Public Symbols of the Confederacy resource. Perhaps that is precisely why the standard is flouted by those who want to politicize everything. On October 12, 2006, a bust of Almirante was smashed in Mrida, Mexico, in the aftermath of the Columbus statues being torn down. Most monuments I'm aware of attest to conquered people and lands, including my people., The Robert E. Lee monument, erected several decades after the Civil War to commemorate the Confederate general, was recently removed following more than a year of protests for racial justice. The Day of the Race has been condemned by social science as a result of its extreme racism, including the Nazism of World War II. THE HILL 1625 K STREET, NW SUITE 900 WASHINGTON DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 TEL | 202-628-8503 FAX. The Confederate symbols and associated values that Americans hold in high regard are paid for by them. Yes, other celebrated Americans were also deeply wrong about slavery, but they aspired to something greater. And that was simply not correct. Since the statues and properties are not intrinsically bad, we do not remove and destroy them. Between June 17, 2015 and July 6, 2020, 59 Confederate statues, nine interpretive markers, and plaques were removed from public land in 19 states across the country. Colleen Walsh, Must We Allow Symbols of Racism on Public Land?, harvard.edu, June 19, 2020, 44. [26] A monument to the victims of slavery has also been suggested. [32] [33], Of the calls to take down Confederate monuments, President Donald Trump stated, This cruel campaign of censorship and exclusion violates everything we hold dear as Americans.
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