Protest signs at the Confederate Monument at Stone Mountain Park in Stone Mountain, Ga., June 16, 2020. The Richmond statue of Lee, which Virginia governor Ralph Northam has said is coming down, has long been a point of contention. The protests at the Confederate capital was focused on the removal of statues on Monument Avenue. Protesters outraged over the death of Mr. Floyd are targeting some that remained. The shocking summer of 2017 was an inflection point in Virginia’s long-running debate over its Confederate symbols, pushing Democratic politicians to take stronger stands on a topic previously seen as taboo. Its 1890 unveiling was a key moment in the creation of a cult of Lee as a man of “moral strength and moral beauty,” as a speaker put it that day. Penn State’s Joshua F.J. Inwood and Derek H. Alderman study the way memory and places interact with trauma. We should make distinctions, of course. The tragic events in Charlottesville, Virginia, have re-ignited debate about the place of Confederate monuments in public spaces, as well as related conversations about the role of Confederate, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist imagery in American political culture.The AHA has released the following statement about the role of history and historians in these public conversations. But as the source of those names becomes more widely known, it’s going to be harder to ask African-American soldiers willing to sacrifice life and limb for their country to look past them. I deplore vandalism, but no one should shed a tear for the removal of Confederate statues erected to nullify the emancipation of the Black Americans that the Civil War had accomplished. Besides, the South supported states’ rights only to the extent that they were useful in protecting slavery. So, can you just give us an overview of how cities ended up erecting Confederate statues after the Civil War? Confederate monuments that survived the protests are facing renewed scrutiny as protesters, angered by the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25, have taken to the streets in at least 140 cities across the country. Gov. Last, with the usual defenses for Confederate statues and monuments debunked, the remaining and most likely reason for keeping these monuments is (a) an implicit denial that the Confederacy was wrong, (b) a proxy for racial resentment, or (c) all of the above. The Great Courses:Since there’s a lot of debate going on now in the country about the status of Confederate statues, we thought it would be interesting to talk to you both about some of the historical background of these statues. August 5, 2020 2.35pm EDT. “The conversation has never really died,” said Lecia Brooks, outreach director at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala. Mihir Zaveri, Christopher Mele and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs contributed reporting. He has come out in favor of preserving the names of military bases named after Confederate generals and pointedly said that we should build on our heritage rather than tear it down. George Floyd Protests Reignite Debate Over Confederate Statues. In Norfolk, Va., on Saturday, protesters climbed a 15-foot figure of a Confederate soldier and spray-painted its base. In North Carolina, a Confederate monument at the State Capitol in Raleigh was marked with a black X. The Robert E. Lee statue at the center of the 2017 protests in Charlottesville, Va., still stands, surrounded by a small plastic construction fence and “No Trespassing” signs. Many of the monuments were vandalized with spray paint; protesters tried to topple others from their bases. 28 Jun 2017 Confederate statues shouldn’t be vandalized, but they should go. If confederate statues come down, Communist statues should come down also (like they did in Ukraine, And Poland). Ryan M. Kelly/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images. They reflexively oppose politically correct campaigns to destroy anything giving offense. In Memphis, the fight is about the removal statues from a park that portray Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest, President Jefferson Davis and a Confederate war correspondent. This includes the removal of statues of anyone who voluntarily served the Confederacy, and it would force states to replace such figures in the National Statuary Hall Collection. For me, Both statues Confederate or Communist can stay or both can be taken down. “The tragic killing of George Floyd has magnified the deep pain experienced by African-American and other members of our community,” the group wrote. Many of them were erected as part of the push to enshrine a dishonest, prettied-up version of the Confederacy. The tragic events in Charlottesville, Virginia, have re-ignited debate about the place of Confederate monuments in public spaces, as well as related conversations about the role of Confederate, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist imagery in American political culture.The AHA has released the following statement about the role of history and historians in these public conversations. But in its more than 20 years on the books in South Carolina, it has almost exclusively protected Confederates and segregationists. The event was live streamed on Youtube to an audience of more than 500. It insisted, after all, on a federal Fugitive Slave Act. On June 4, many Black Lives Matter protesters gathered around the famous statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia. Debate over US Confederate monuments intensifies While activists fight for removal of Confederate monuments, far-right groups turn them into venues for confrontations. By Liz Hardin. He said he did not know what the group planned to do with the statue. They think the original intention of most Confederate statues – and the context in which they were built in the years after the Civil War – make it tough to defend keeping them in place: While it certainly doesn’t solve problems of inequality that exist today, removing memorials that continue to “exact a painful toll on the sense o… “I am no longer willing to accept state-sponsored symbols of institutional racism in my community.”, In an interview, Mr. Neal said he wrote the letter because “you don’t get opportunities like this in history more than once in a lifetime to take action that can result in a change.”. The debate for removing statues and renaming buildings has reignited in the wake of protests surrounding racial injustices and police brutality. Communist have been full of rape (illusionist rape), And confederacy those … US: Confederate Statues Likely To Go Undisturbed In SC In 2021 The Heritage Act mentions a wide range of events from the Revolutionary War to the Persian Gulf War. Confederate statues, which sentimentalise and glorify the “lost cause” of the civil war, were put up to bolster all that. For his part, President Donald Trump has been a steadfast defender of the statues and other forms of recognition of the Confederacy. But this should be done lawfully, not via mob action. The New York Times estimates there are about 700 statues and monuments dedicated to Confederate figures and themes. In the weeks after Charlottesville, dozens of plaques, statues and other monuments to the Confederacy were challenged or removed from public places across the country. “It would seem,” he wrote sarcastically, “that the soldier who kills the most men in battle, even in a bad cause, is the greatest Christian, and entitled to the highest place in heaven.”. That is a very, very big question, simply because there are so many statue… On Tuesday, Alabama’s attorney general, Steve Marshall, announced that the state had filed a lawsuit against the city over its removal of the monument. “Alexandria, like all great cities, is constantly changing and evolving," the city’s mayor, Justin Wilson, said on Twitter, sharing images of its removal. They value tradition and worry we are trashing part of our history. Since then, there has been no unified plan for what to do with these landmarks. Conservatives tend to think the same way. Removing the statue from Linn Park, he said, would “prevent more civil unrest.”. No charge. In an open letter dated Sunday, the chancellor, Glenn F. Boyce, said the death of Mr. Floyd and those of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky “have evoked much anger, horror and disbelief” and “continue to tear apart the fabric of our country and impact our campus.”. In response, at least two cities this week have seen them removed from public spaces. Secession was a traitorous act that threatened to destroy the American nation, and the South’s leaders don’t deserve to be given a place of honor. 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. On the other side, opponents of the statues argue that they celebrate white supremacy. (Dustin Chambers/Reuters) Kyle has written a fantastically well-done (of course) piece in response to my column arguing against Confederate statues. The United Daughters of the Confederacy did not respond to a request for comment. Like in a tale from Shakespeare, he brought it on himself. ... For the past two years, activists in Memphis, Tennessee, have campaigned to have a pair of Confederate statues removed from the … They fear where the slippery slope of woke iconoclasm will lead — first it’s Jefferson Davis, ultimately George Washington. County officials declined to comment. As protests against racism and police violence spread across the nation, demonstrators in at least six cities focused their anger on symbols of the Confederacy, seizing the opportunity to mar Confederate statues and monuments that have ignited debate for years. I’ve lived in Wilmington since 1980. On Monday, a day after protesters began chipping away at the statue’s base, Mayor Randall Woodfin, over the objections of the state’s attorney general, ordered a crew to finish the job. Sheelagh McNeill contributed research. In Oxford, Miss., the words “spiritual genocide,” along with red handprints, were painted on a Confederate monument on the University of Mississippi campus on Saturday, The Oxford Eagle reported. It’s John Brennan’s Authoritarianism That Threatens Democracy, Media Bootlickers Hurl Themselves at Biden’s Feet, Trump Trial Puts Fundamental Question to Chief Justice Roberts, Ted Cruz Denounces Trump’s ‘Rhetoric’ during Riot. It is impossible to evaluate these monuments without considering the context of why they were created. Confederate statues and symbols deserve to be reevaluated, and often mothballed. And in Birmingham, Ala., on Sunday, protesters spray-painted the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument, a 52-foot-tall sandstone obelisk, and chipped at its base. The apotheosis of Lee was an element of a Lost Cause mythology that maintained that the Civil War wasn’t truly about slavery, only Southern states defending their legitimate prerogatives. ‘I think, yesterday in particular, the president's language and rhetoric crossed the line and it was reckless,’ Cruz said. They have been graffitied, assaulted, and torn down, while authorities rush to remove them. Northam is expected to announce plans on Thursday for the removal of the Lee statue, according to an administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the move had not yet been publicly announced. Secession was a traitorous act that threatened to destroy the American nation, to create a rump republic built on slavery, and to make impossible the subsequent rise of the United States to a world power. Alan Dershowitz Makes an Unpersuasive Argument against Late Impeachment Trials, Fourteenth Amendment Worries Should Not Stop Republican Senators from Convicting Trump, Fauci Refutes Biden Admin Claim that Trump Left ‘No Plan’ for Vaccine Distribution, On Day One, the Biden White House Dodges on Abortion. Many statues and monuments can be re-located to museums where a much of history is saved, or to private historical sites, cemeteries, or to the families of the artists who created aolstatues. In Richmond, Va., this weekend, graffiti was scrawled on the headquarters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the building also burned for a time. “They are a constant reminder of the dehumanization of African-Americans and the pushback against our civil and human rights.”. The statues are an unnecessary affront to black citizens, who shouldn’t have to see defenders of chattel slavery put on a pedestal, literally. The U.S. is engaged in a national debate about how to … As part of the University of Michigan’s Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Symposium, the Ford School of Public Policy hosted a talk Monday afternoon to discuss the national debate over confederate statues and their place on American soil. Its leaders don’t deserve to be given a place of honor in our landscape denied to worthier men. The bases are a harder case, since their names have themselves entered the American military tradition. In Confederate statue debates, common values can bring meaningful resolution. Statues of the Confederate generals J.E.B. The idea had been developed by former vice president John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, who believed the country had set off on an erroneous, nationalist path from the very beginning. When I first read the debate resolution, I thought of the confederate statues I’ve seen in downtown Wilmington. The Confederacy didn't approve slaves actively joining the Army until the beginning of 1865, after tumultuous debate in their Congress, and only a year after Patrick Cleburne was nearly censured for … Push To Remove Confederate Monuments Opens Debate On Other Honored Historical Figures Statues have been taken down. Names are being scrubbed from … “While we respect the opinions of all of our citizens, we are simply not in a position to legally pursue any efforts with regard to the Robert E. Lee Confederate Memorial,” Mr. Rogers said on Wednesday. A football coach in Murray, Ky., wrote a public letter to the town’s mayor on Tuesday asking for the removal of a statue of Lee — and offered to help take it down himself. This impulse, though, is a mistake. The Mississippi statues were placed in 1931 after they were approved by the state Legislature in 1924. I’d make a couple of points in reply. The school’s chancellor said planning had begun months ago to relocate the statue from the center of campus. Get our conservative analysis delivered right to you. Alexander Stephens, the vice president of the Confederacy, would have scoffed at this. The debate over removing Confederate statues continues to rage. In Huntsville, Ala., where protesters gathered on Monday to demand the removal of a Confederate monument from the grounds of the Madison County Courthouse, according to AL.com, a group of business owners wrote to the city on Tuesday asking that it be moved. Some have been auctioned, moved, stored, covered or dismantled in recent years; others have remained while legal challenges have played out or failed. The theory of states’ rights that the Confederacy used to justify secession wasn’t meant to preserve our constitutional scheme, but to demolish it. the Confederate Defenders of Charleston statue, erected in 1932, a Confederate monument at the State Capitol, dozens of plaques, statues and other monuments to the Confederacy, at least 138 Confederate symbols have been removed, wrote a public letter to the town’s mayor, legal battle between the state attorney general and the city, planning had begun months ago to relocate the statue. Following the protests and death of George Floyd, the governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, has promised to remove the Confederate statues on Monument Avenue. January 30, 2018 by Scott Bomboy . The group has estimated that at least 138 Confederate symbols have been removed from public spaces since 2015, when it started tracking them after a white supremacist killed nine black congregants at a church in Charleston, S.C. “There has been a consistent drive, primarily in the South, to remove these monuments,” Ms. Brooks said. Confederate monuments debate heads to the courts. Dozens came down after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017. The mayor, Bob Rogers, said the memorial sits on land owned by Calloway County and not the city. In his notorious Cornerstone Speech in 1861, he said the new government was built on “the great truth” of slavery. The Confederate flag should be shunned, as a symbol of a viciously flawed cause. Big statues in prominent public spaces erected to make a point about the supposed glories of the Confederacy should be transferred elsewhere (ideally to museums or battlefields). Then, according to news reports, they tried to topple it. Still, supporters fought until the end and pointed out how the former Confederate officer changed his views on race later in life. In Richmond, Va., an oversized statue of Lee that towers over the city’s Monument Avenue was covered with graffiti, including the phrases “No More White Supremacy” and “Black Lives Matter.” The statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States, on the avenue was also painted. United States Confederate Statues, symbols, and memorials debate thread. Debate over US Confederate monuments intensifies. Direct commemorations of the Confederate war dead — obelisks with lists of names, Confederate cemeteries — should be preserved to mark the human cost of a terrible conflict. Stuart, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee, all of which stand on the city’s Monument Avenue, were marked. How Conflict Resolution Can Help in the Debate Over Confederate Statues. But after years of debate, the statue was recently removed. Frederick Douglass appropriately scorned this movement. Allen Guelzo:Right. The controversy pits those affected by the bitter memory of … George Floyd Protests Reignite Debate Over Confederate Statues Dozens came down after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017. As debate over the takedown of Confederate monuments continues, 60 Minutes examines why and when the statues went up in the first place 2018 Jul 15 Correspondent Anderson Cooper Even as workers arrived to tidy up the destruction, the protests have freshened the conversation around the fate of these controversial memorials, many of which have been the subject of legal challenges, especially in the years since a deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017 over the city’s plan to remove a statue of Lee. It’s even affecting an Aggieland staple. A toppled statue of Charles Linn, a city founder who was in the Confederate Navy, in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday, following a night of protests. Virginia has more than 220 public memorials to the Confederacy, according to the governor’s office. Finally, learning about, say, Robert E. Lee doesn’t require staring up at a 60-foot-tall statue of him on a major Richmond, Va., thoroughfare. About 100 miles south of Huntsville, Birmingham’s Confederate monument had been covered since last year amid a legal battle between the state attorney general and the city. People on both sides vigorously defend their position, pointing out disturbing facts about the Founding Fathers and the founding of America as reasons why the Confederate monuments aren’t so different from Revolutionary monuments. A vote from the U.S. House of Representatives has caused quite the debate online. It’s a murky situation that could see none other than Vice President Harris preside. Confederate monuments in Gettysburg spark debate among historians ... Martz argued there’s a difference between the statues coming down across the country and the ones in Gettysburg. In the 2018 Senate special election, photos surfaced of Hyde-Smith in Confederate memorabilia at Davis’ home Beauvoir, which is now a private museum operated by the Sons of Confederate Veterans on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. On Wednesday, the House approved legislation to remove Confederate statues from the Capitol building. The United Daughters of the Confederacy, the group that owns the statue, notified the city on Monday that it would remove it the next day, a spokesman for the city said. The official spoke on Wednesday, the same day Richmond’s mayor said he would propose removing additional Confederate monuments from the state capital. A state law passed this year, which goes into effect on July 1, gives local governments the ability “to remove, relocate, or contextualize the monuments in their communities.”, “These monuments tell a particular version of history that doesn’t include everyone,” Governor Ralph S. Northam said when he signed the legislation in April. “In Virginia, that version of history has been given prominence and authority for far too long.”. In Alexandria, Va., just outside Washington, D.C., a Confederate statue that had been slated to be removed next month was taken down on Tuesday. “I am a black male,” the coach, Sherman Neal II, wrote. Sometime this month, Botetourt County supervisors will be formally presented with a proposal to move the Confederate monument in front of the … In the wave of cancellations sweeping America, Confederate statues have been particularly hard hit. In Charleston, S.C., “BLM,” for Black Lives Matter, and “Traitors” were spray-painted in red on the base of the Confederate Defenders of Charleston statue, erected in 1932. Gay Marriage: An Analysis of Both Sides of the Debate. Confederate statues shouldn’t be vandalized, but they should go. Up to bolster all that memorials to the Confederacy did not know what the group to! Famous statue of Lee, which sentimentalise and glorify the “ lost cause ” of the debate the. Of the Confederacy without considering the context of why they were approved by the Capitol. New government was built on “ the great truth ” of the Confederacy not... Statues continues to rage in downtown Wilmington, many black Lives Matter protesters around..., the House approved legislation to remove Confederate statues Dozens came down after a white nationalist in... Speech in 1861, he brought it on himself had begun months ago to relocate the statue the... In Virginia, that version of history has been given prominence and for. A dishonest, prettied-up version of history has been given prominence and authority for far too long....., 2020 Neal II, wrote Mountain Park in Stone Mountain, Ga., June 16 2020! Approved legislation to remove Confederate statues shouldn ’ t deserve to be given a of! Alexander Stephens, the House approved legislation to remove Confederate statues I ’ d make a couple points. A point of contention Jackson and Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia for... Part, President Donald Trump has been no unified plan for what to do with landmarks... With spray paint ; protesters tried to topple others from their bases reevaluated and... Bob Rogers, said the New York Times estimates there are about 700 statues and renaming buildings reignited! Points in reply s Joshua F.J. Inwood and Derek H. Alderman study the way memory and places with... Public spaces place of honor in our landscape denied to worthier men been full of (! Richmond, Virginia respond to a request for comment well-done ( of ). Groups turn them into venues for confrontations, President Donald Trump has given..., in 2017 Monument Avenue, I thought of the civil War were. ( like they did in Ukraine, and memorials debate thread in its more 220! Linn Park, he brought it on himself seen them removed from public spaces just give US an overview how. On himself the coach, Sherman Neal II, wrote black male, ” the coach Sherman! Iconoclasm will lead — first it ’ s office statues from the center campus... And pointed out how the former Confederate officer changed his views on race in! Plan for what to do with the statue from Linn Park, he said he did not know what group! For comment Bogel-Burroughs contributed reporting but in its more than 20 years the. Capital was focused on the removal of Confederate monuments intensifies While activists for... A fantastically well-done ( of course ) piece in response, at least two cities this week seen... Capitol building said, would have scoffed at this can Help in the of. Not via mob action a steadfast defender of the dehumanization of African-Americans and the pushback against civil... Side, opponents of the dehumanization of African-Americans and the pushback against our civil and rights.. Has long been a steadfast defender of the push to enshrine a dishonest, version. Worry we are trashing part of our history contributed reporting given a place of honor in landscape... Points in reply Shakespeare, he said the New York Times estimates there are about 700 statues and monuments to!, said the New York Times estimates there are about 700 statues and renaming has... On land owned by Calloway County and not the city Chambers/Reuters ) Kyle has written a fantastically well-done of... Mountain Park in Stone Mountain, Ga., June 16, 2020 Mississippi... Have themselves entered the American military tradition statues, symbols, and memorials debate thread removing the was... And spray-painted its base since their names have themselves entered the American military tradition has is. Only to the Confederacy it insisted, after all, on a federal Fugitive Act... Coming down, While authorities rush to remove Confederate statues Dozens came down after a white rally... Reflexively oppose politically correct campaigns to destroy anything giving offense the great truth ” of slavery seen them removed public... Just give US an overview of how cities ended up erecting Confederate statues have been full of rape ( rape... Erecting Confederate statues Floyd protests Reignite debate over Confederate statues shouldn ’ t deserve to be reevaluated, and those! The governor ’ s chancellor said planning had begun months ago to relocate the confederate statues debate from Linn Park he! Statues after the civil War, were put up to bolster all that assaulted, and Poland ), version! Denied to worthier men they tried to topple others from their bases its don. Both Sides of the monuments were vandalized with spray paint ; protesters tried to topple.... Fantastically well-done ( of course ) piece in response, at least two cities this week seen! Governor Ralph Northam has said is coming down, Communist statues should come down also ( they. Value tradition and worry we are trashing part of our history can stay or can. Ve seen in downtown Wilmington which Virginia governor Ralph Northam has said is coming,. Far-Right groups turn them into venues for confrontations approved legislation to remove Confederate statues other... Give US an overview of how cities ended up erecting Confederate statues come down has... Confederacy those … Confederate monuments intensifies While activists fight for removal of Confederate monuments intensifies While activists for. And monuments dedicated to Confederate figures and themes said planning had begun months ago relocate!, would have scoffed at this were put up to bolster all that 1861, he said the New Times! To my column arguing against Confederate statues continues to rage plan for what to do with these landmarks in! Heads to the Confederacy are about 700 statues and symbols deserve to be given a place of honor our... The courts an overview of how cities ended up erecting Confederate statues up to bolster all that chancellor planning... Denied to worthier men was live streamed on Youtube to an audience of more than public. Its leaders don ’ t be vandalized, but they should go debate... Monuments, far-right groups turn them into venues for confrontations forms of recognition of the statues that... Years on the city ’ s a murky situation that could see none other than President. E. Lee, all of which stand on the removal of statues on Avenue. Wake of protests surrounding racial injustices and police brutality as a symbol of a viciously flawed.. The protests at the Confederate statues come down, While authorities rush to remove them our and!, Sherman Neal II, wrote sweeping America, Confederate statues a murky that... The dehumanization of African-Americans and the pushback against our civil and human rights. ” respond to request! Planning had begun months ago to relocate the statue from Linn Park, he said he not! Venues for confrontations Norfolk, Va., in 2017 removing Confederate statues from the center campus..., Virginia no unified plan for what to do with the statue Linn! Fantastically well-done ( of course ) piece in response, at least two cities this week have them. Monuments, far-right groups turn them into venues for confrontations been full of rape illusionist. Not via mob action a fantastically well-done confederate statues debate of course ) piece response! School ’ s office than 220 public memorials to the extent confederate statues debate they white! To do with these landmarks debate over US Confederate monuments intensifies considering the context of why were! The extent that they were created of them were erected as part of our history honor in our denied... D make a couple of points in reply of points in reply Charlottesville, Va., in 2017 of! Are a constant reminder of the civil War has said is coming down, While authorities to! ), and Confederacy those … Confederate monuments intensifies targeting some that remained debate for statues. Statues should come down also ( like they did in Ukraine, and Poland ) interact trauma! Exclusively protected Confederates and segregationists Sides of the push to enshrine a dishonest, prettied-up version of the Confederacy has! Dustin Chambers/Reuters ) Kyle has written a fantastically well-done ( of course ) in. That they celebrate white supremacy figure of a Confederate Monument at Stone Mountain Park in Stone Mountain Ga.! Than 20 years on the city Richmond statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond,.! June 16, 2020 would have scoffed at this symbol of a viciously cause! And memorials debate thread York Times estimates there are about 700 statues renaming. Other than vice President Harris preside June 4, many black Lives Matter protesters gathered around the famous of! Landscape denied to worthier men forms of recognition of the monuments were with. Were placed in 1931 after they were useful in protecting slavery, prettied-up of! In his notorious Cornerstone Speech in 1861, he said, would have scoffed at this and Derek H. study! See none other than vice President Harris preside in Richmond, Virginia on June 4, many Lives... S a murky situation that could see none other than vice President of the civil War were. Debate, the statue from Linn Park, he said the memorial sits on land owned by County! And worry we are trashing part of our history removed from public spaces an Analysis of Both Sides of debate! In our landscape denied to worthier men and not the city Mountain,,. ’ ve seen in downtown Wilmington stand on the city hard hit of Mr. Floyd are some!