Kelly Grovier, Black Lives Matter Protests: Why Are Statues So Powerful?, bbc.com, June 12, 2020, 26. Despite its relatively small price tag, it is still worth considering, especially when compared to the total cost of the Civil War and its aftermath. In the 1930s and 1940s, revolutionary and reformist forces distrusted Columbus statues because they had been erected with a clearly racist and Eurocentric spirit. There are many other people who could be represented by statues who would better represent the historical progress and diversity of the country. [27] [28] Statues celebrating the diversity of the country could help remedy symbolic annihilation of black Americans, women, and other groups. 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. 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. 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. 13.8K Followers. 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. ProCon.org. Since the election of President Donald Trump, there has been an increased push to remove Confederate statues and monuments. What does that say to black citizens of the state, or other citizens, or to younger generations? [4], Of about 5,193 public statues of people in the United States, only 394 are of women, and far fewer are of black Americans or other people of color. There is no path to a peaceful and prosperous country without challenging and rejecting that as a basis for our society. Perhaps that is precisely why the standard is flouted by those who want to politicize everything. 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). Stephen E. Ambrose, Founding Fathers and Slaveholders, smithsonianmag.com, Nov. 2002, 43. We see this in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol. Starting with the Reconstruction, we see them being used as a way to control public spaces and maintain white supremacy alongside other things like lynching, controlling school curriculums, etc. Even more importantly, however, erasing monuments of once-revered figures upsets an unspoken but long-prevailing consensus governing our decisions of whom to commemorate. A few years ago, the nation stood watch as Confederate statues started tumbling down at the hands of protestors or at the direction of city officials, seeking peace and reckoning mainly throughout the South after the deaths of Black men at the hands of police and other racial injustices. [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. Instructions for Pros / Cons Paper; Five (5) page essay (2) pages of "pro" and (2) pages of "cons . Q: What can you tell us about Americas history with monuments and memorials? The line is subjective, difficult to draw, and easy to reinterpret, leaving no memorial protected. Among the items included in a new time capsule that will take its place is a copy of Diazs Pulitzer Prize-winning Postcolonial Love Poem., When my old basketball coach Wendy Larry texted me to tell me the Virginia governor's office was trying to reach me, I had no idea what they might want. 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. Who Frederick Douglass was. Brian Palmer and Seth Freed Wessler, The Costs of the Confederacy, smithsonianmag.com, Dec 2018, 5. It wasnt until a statue, or, more specifically, the absence of one, that he discovered himself in the crosshairs. 1. Robert E. Lees statue, for example, is regarded as particularly offensive due to his role in defending slavery and the Confederacy. Defunding the humanities, cutting history classes and departments. Common faults are, by definition, common. Then youre asking museums to do a lot of work they dont want to do and maybe shouldnt be doing. 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 statues represent the countrys history, no matter how complicated. Other statues of historic figures, such as slave-owning presidents or imperialists like Christopher Columbus, promote similar oppressive and revisionist messages. First, virtually everyone acts in ways consistent with contemporaneous social normsnorms of which later generations may disapprove. So what should be the standard for taking down a statue? 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. Opponents said, well, if you're going to take down Jefferson Davis, the next day you're going to take down George Washington. Photograph: Schalk van Zuydam/AP A similar story can be told in the southern states of the US. 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. A 2018 investigation published in the Smithsonian Magazine found that over the prior ten years at least $40 million in taxpayer dollars were allocated for Confederate statues, other monuments, and heritage organizations. 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? The statues misrepresent history, and glorify people who perpetuated slavery, attempted secession from United States, and lost the Civil War. [45] [46] Martin Luther King, Jr. regularly cheated on his wife. Ultimately, as far as who gets to decide, I think activism is what gets it done. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Activists are campaigning for a statue of Cecil Rhodes to be removed from an Oxford college. 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. Greta Anderson, When Free Speech and Racist Speech Collide, insidehighered.com, June 23, 2020, 36. 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. In several cities, these tributes have been vandalized or torn down by protestors or removed by public officials. I think the difference that Floyd's murder has made is that most American citizens are finally realizing what they represent. I dont think theres any value there. It is no surprise that he is not fondly remembered by his descendants, who consider themselves natives. They harbored cultural bias. The rally protested the proposed removal of statues of Confederate Army GeneralsRobert E. LeeandStonewall Jackson. [10] [11] [12], Washington, Jefferson, and Grant had undeniable ties to slavery. GORDON-REED: I suppose, if people want to, everything can pave the way to some other point. 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. List two to three ways. There are a number of reasons why Confederate monuments should be kept. Parental selection of spouses is anathema today, but in Ciceros society, everybody did it.. Theres nothing to memorialize there, except a history of white supremacy and treason. The issue rose to prominence again in 2017 after an Aug. 12 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned violent and deadly. OK, actually, that makes it easier. To access extended pro and con arguments, sources, discussion questions, and ways to take action on the issue of whether historic statues should be taken down in the United States, go to ProCon.org. While most Americans watch helplessly, ourstateside Taliban vandalizes and removeslong-standing public monuments. Also removed from the monument's base was a 133-year-old copper time capsule containing artifacts and ephemera related to the Confederacy. The history of destroying monuments shows the dangers of tearing them down. The monument divided the African American community, exposing various political philosophies on how to deal with white supremacy. They did, though, own slaves. GREENE: But is there an argument that removing these statues could help further the fight for racial equality in our country? Even after the statues were erected, there was never a common ground between them. 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. Public Symbols of the Confederacy, splcenter.org, Feb. 1, 2019, 15. In the United States, Confederate generals were overthrown or voted out. On October 12, 2006, a bust of Almirante was smashed in Mrida, Mexico, in the aftermath of the Columbus statues being torn down. Or a religiously-conservative majority may blacklist outstanding women who in private life opted for legal abortions. Chvez was once an island with no borders and no land. SINHA: I've been against it all along. Claudette Colvin was a member of the Womens Missionary Union before Rosa Parks was born. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. [17] [18] The Lost Cause mythology was used to continue the idea that black people needed to be subjugated for their own good and as justification for Jim Crow laws. A statue of Josphine de Beauharnais, who married Napoleon and became his first wife, was ripped down in Martinique. During the global Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020, calls to take down the statues were met with citizens not only actively damaging or removing statues of Confederate figures, but targeting statues of slave-holding Founding Fathers in general, as well as historic monuments to Abraham Lincoln and abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass. What purpose do they serve in society? An 1884 Confederate monument to General Robert E. Lee is removed from Lee Circle in New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 19, 2017. A: Thats such a complex issue. 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. 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. Conocie una fugacidad de las personas y conocie una inscripcin hablada de un poder. It started in the 1890s with the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Evan Andrews, How Many U.S. Presidents Owned Enslaved People?, history.com, Sep. 3, 2019, 45. And that was simply not correct. In particular, a lot of our civic buildings our courthouses, our state capitals, even our public squares and parks are in the neoclassical style. History will still be taught. 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. Take away these men who seem to be inferior to Roosevelt, but leave him. Manisha Sinha, a Civil War historian at the University of Connecticut, says when it comes to, say, Robert E. Lee, take it down. But I think whats so interesting about the City Beautiful movement is that it controlled public spaces in a very specific way, and it was ultimately a movement about assimilation, and a movement that came out of a real concern about immigration. Taneys bust was replaced with one of Thurgood Marshall. Aishvarya Kavi, Activists Push for Removal of Statue of Freed Slave Kneeling Before Lincoln, nytimes.com, June 27, 2020, 20. Colleen Walsh, Must We Allow Symbols of Racism on Public Land?, harvard.edu, June 19, 2020, 44. His explorations united a world previously divided by hemispheres. What Should Take Their Place? Photo courtesy of Getty Images/iStockphoto, (480) 965-9657 We do not erect monuments to people who performed extraordinary feats that were unquestionably evil, even if their characters included some virtuous traits. Since antiquity, statues in public places have been primarily used to represent power and authority. BBC, Confederate and Columbus Statues Toppled by US Protesters, bbc.com, June 11, 2020, 21. Kehinde Wiley, Instagram.com, June 4, 2020, 34. Confederates died defending slavery as an institution. Several years have passed since the debate over the removal of Confederate statues began. The Virginia statues still stood amid the protests following the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, though they were tagged with graffiti. When the statues are publicly owned, removing them by wanton destruction still usurps decision-making authority from the public. A: What we choose to memorialize speaks to our values as a society, and often, certain populations are excluded entirely from that. A high-profile decision to tear down a famous bronze figure of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Va., was halted by a court challenge, which was extended indefinitely on Thursday. It was a great energy to be a part of removing that statue and seeding something new in its place; a little piece of respect and love for the land, which is what I consider the poem to be.. GAZETTE: What about the slippery slope argument? 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. Politics plays a role in answering close questions. Slavery is represented in statues by people who distort history and commemorate individuals who perpetuated it. The definition of a statue includes a work of art that represents something as well. They are usually constructed to commemorate momentous events or important figures in history. They are also a reminder of the sacrifices made by those who fought for the Confederacy and a symbol of Southern heritage. The main duty is not to hide the bitter parts. [43]. 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. Donald Trump, Twitter.com, June 30, 2020, 35. Monticello, Jefferson's Attitudes toward Slavery, monticello.org (accessed July 7, 2020), 41. The architect Daniel Burnham was a leader in the movement; he went on to do the McMillan Plan for the National Mall in D.C. Ted Mann, Lincoln Statue With Kneeling Black Man Becomes Target of Protests, wsj.com, June 25, 2020, 14. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. So for instance, a lot of the sort of backlash against taking down Confederate statues was precisely this. Does this moment, and these efforts feel different to you? There is no path to a peaceful and prosperous country without challenging and rejecting that as a basis for our society., Supreme Court decision shielding DACA draws relief, celebration, Happiness is not a destination Happiness is the way, Expanding our understanding of gut feelings, Gen Z, millennials need to be prepared to fight for change. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. They represent the establishments value system at any given time, regardless of the circumstances. procon@eb.com, 2023 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Many of Americas founders George Washington, Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. Debate around the removal of memorials and monuments that honor people and ideas whose messages and causes are considered offensive to certain marginalized groups has been a hot-button issue of late in the national conversation. Ive been studying the impact of Black Lives Matter on statues and memorials around the world for the past few months. Consider the idea of placing the removed statues in museums with the American Alliance of Museums. UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: When do we want it? Ellis Cose, Keep Confederate Monuments, but Put Their Horrific History on Center Stage, usatoday, Aug. 21, 2017, 52. And while it is true that many of the Virginian Founding Fathers - Washington, Jefferson, Madison - all owned slaves, we put up their statues not to commemorate their slave holding but for different reasons. First, removing all these statues and monuments cost a lot of money and take a long time. Yes, other celebrated Americans were also deeply wrong about slavery, but they aspired to something greater. They are a reminder of our countrys dark and oppressive history. The removal of Confederate monuments is usually around $1.8 million in total, but this varies by location. With most American figures, certainly most presidents, you will find many reasons to actually criticize them and criticize their record, even our heroes. When were talking about the Lee statue, its a really good example of what can happen when there is disagreement in the community about what its values are. He was not forgotten or disgraced, but he was not a forgotten figure because he was one of Venezuelas most revered rulers. The statues in major British cities are being reviewed. Both Washington and Jefferson were critical to the formation of the country and to the shaping of it in its early years No one puts a monument up to Washington or Jefferson to promote slavery I think on these two, Washington and Jefferson, in particular, you take the bitter with sweet. Protesters for. Explain your answers. Despite Nicole Douglas' team-leading 14th goal of the season, the Sun Devil soccer team was unable to claim its first Pac-12 victory of the season after falling to the Oregon State Beavers, 2-1 on Thursday night. What do you think? Dessi Gomez, Hello, Dolly? They put up monuments to T.J. because of the Declaration of Independence, which every group has used to make their place in American society. Should we not honor the contributions of Washington, Jefferson, and Grant to the United States because they owned slaves, as did many men of their standing at the time, even though they struggled with the institution? 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. Ive said it before: There is an important difference between helping to create the United States and trying to destroy it. Below are the proper citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): the Modern Language Association Style Manual (MLA), the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian). 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. It depends on who the person is and what the objections are. Mridas Avenida de los Insignes, the Paseo de los Insignes, and the Coln derribado de Caracas were all parts of the Ch Guevaras visit to the United States. What do you think of that idea? 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. We should be able to discuss these historical figures and discuss what we admire about them and what we don't admire so much. On the one hand, some argue that they are historical landmarks and should be preserved. Statues could be built to honor George Washington Carver, Madame CJ Walker, Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Owens, Gwendolyn Brooks, Ruby Bridges, Mae Jemison, Charles Richard Drew, Mary Jackson, and countless others. During the globalBlack Lives Matterprotests in the summer of 2020, calls to take down the statues were met with citizens not only actively damaging or removing statues of Confederate figures, but targeting statues of slave-holdingFounding Fathers in general, as well as historic monuments to Abraham Lincoln and abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass. I certainly understand the emotion the passion particularly if government officials have turned a blind eye to previous petitions from the community. Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, Martin Luther King Jr., Women, and the Possibility of Growth, chicagoreporter.com, Jan. 18, 2019, 48. The rally protested the proposed removal of statues of Confederate Army Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Sarah Fling, The Formerly Enslaved Household of the Grant Family, whitehousehistory.org, Apr. But the traditional standard does help minimize political manipulation of history. Neil Vigdor and Daniel Victor, "Over 160 Confederate Symbols Were Removed in 2020, Group Says," nytimes.com, Feb. 23, 2021, 56. These loans are available for those with a credit score of at least 500. The Straka is spelled with a T. Monument in Madrid, Spain. 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. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? Confederate monuments, in our society, are an artifact from an era gone wrong. These statues are a reminder of our history, both good and bad. Lawrence A. Kuznar, I Detest Our Confederate Monuments. Police stopped these protesters, but statues are coming down around the U.S., yanked down or removed by local governments. A monument to Cecil Rhodes is located in South Africa, and another stands in Britain. Eight US presidents owned slaves while in office, with an additional four owning slaves while not in office. MANISHA SINHA: It always astonished me as a Civil War historian to see statues commemorating Confederate generals and politicians who had literally committed treason against this country in order to uphold human bondage. [20] [21] These statues, like their Confederate counterparts, serve a revisionist purpose, allowing people to maintain a racist ideology. The greatest tragedy in the history of the United States was the loss of over a thousand lives as a result of the countrys wars. Of those who support the idea in the latest poll, 84% . They must be removed, according to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Scottie Andrew and Anna Sturla, A Statue of Frederick Douglass Was Toppled over the Fourth of July Weekend, the Anniversary of His Famous Speech, cnn.com, July 6, 2020, 10. emma.greguska@asu.edu. SINHA: I think when you go down that slippery slope, maybe it might backfire. Some were unlawfully torn. GREENE: You said something interesting. [35]. 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. ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. There are far more dangerous threats to history.