A statue must be erected on land that is yours and have the authority to do so. Both Washington and Jefferson were critical to the formation of the country and to the shaping of it in its early years. When the statues are publicly owned, removing them by wanton destruction still usurps decision-making authority from the public. When a king dies, his or her statue is also taken down, as are those of their ancestors. Several years have passed since the debate over the removal of Confederate statues began. [31], In Louisville, a statue of Confederate soldier John Breckinridge Castleman was removed. I think the difference that Floyd's murder has made is that most American citizens are finally realizing what they represent. Tomas Strakas Vida Poltica de las Estatuas is a collection of essays. Disputation in the political sphere is difficult to come by. [9] And a statue of black tennis star and Civil Rights activist Arthur Ashe was tagged with white lives matter graffiti in Richmond, Virginia. [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. UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: When do we want it? Thats a lot of money for one city to pay for, and that money could be used for more important things. On the other hand, others argue that they are offensive and should be removed. Monuments to men who advocated cruelty and barbarism to achieve such a plainly racist end are a grotesque affront to these ideals. 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. What is that extreme? I have a complex relationship with monuments, said Diaz, now a world-renowned poet. History protests Confederate Monuments and Other Disputed Memorials Have Come Down in Cities Across America. There has been much debate over which statues should be taken down, and whether this is an effective way to combat bigotry. [52], Next to the Peace Monument in Atlanta, Georgia, a plaque reads, This monument should no longer stand as a memorial to white brotherhood; rather, it should be seen as an artifact representing a shared history in which millions of Americans were denied civil and human rights. [24], Sheffield Hale, JD, President and Chief Executive of the Atlanta History Center, stated of the plaque, I do think it gives [people] a starting point, which is sorely needed right now, in our society, as a way to deal with contentious issues. A statue of Cecil Rhodes being removed from the University of Cape Town campus, South Africa, 2015. In the modern-day case of the removal of U.S. monuments that many argue commend white supremacy and colonialism, the shift in power could be seen as from those who deny the racist overtones of such structures or who maintain that some monuments have historical or aesthetic value worth preserving to those who embrace a national culture of inclusion. Removing statues is a slippery slope that could lead to the brash removal of monuments to any slightly problematic person. Lee was distinguished from his contemporaries by an exemplary career, both in the U.S. and Confederate armies, of competence and honor. First and foremost, they are part of our history and should be preserved as such. Advocates of removing statutes of controversial figures suggest that these monuments represent individuals whose actions and legacies should not be celebrated or memorialised. Should historic statues be taken down? Linda Lopata, If Susan B. Anthony Was Racist, susanb.org (accessed July 7, 2020), 47. There are pros and cons to removing statues. The consensus renders the commemoration process more meaningful and less political than it otherwise would be. Who Abraham Lincoln was. A statue of Josphine de Beauharnais, who married Napoleon and became his first wife, was ripped down in Martinique. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Any statue removal may result in the removal of monuments from any individual with a problematic history. 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. 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). Photograph: Schalk van Zuydam/AP A similar story can be told in the southern states of the US. Moving such monuments to museums or other places where they can be contextualized and interpreted is a goal of the National Trust. The issue rose to prominence again in 2017 after an Aug. 12 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned violent and deadly. They often depict political leaders, but more often military leaders. Their actions also took a violent turn, as when revolutionaries murdered bishops and priests who refused to sign a loyalty oath. 1. There are a variety of reasons why Confederate monuments should be removed from public spaces. We should be able to discuss these historical figures and discuss what we admire about them and what we don't admire so much. Statues elevate a person from a historical event rather than demystify it. The Virginia statues still stood amid the protests following the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, though they were tagged with graffiti. Its a pleasure to be a part of the politics of Los diferentes estrellas de la Avenida. Yet, this is not the first time . 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. 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. 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. 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. Many of the men with whom George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Ulysses S. Grant were associated at the time were slaves. The Confederate statues have no redeeming qualities to them, but other statues certainly do. Hannah Natanson, Theres a New Way to Deal with Confederate Monuments: Signs That Explain Their Racist History, washingtonpost.com, Sep. 22, 2019, 53. They are a part of our cultural heritage. There are many other people who deserve statues that better represent the countrys historical progress and diversity. 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? Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. 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? Mississippis secession declaration states, Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery the greatest material interest of the world. He was not forgotten or disgraced, but he was not a forgotten figure because he was one of Venezuelas most revered rulers. The media should publish their anniversaries and conduct tests based on their significance. These battles have a strong historical context, as they were influenced by a very Venezuelan tradition: Bolivarian political historicism. There was the thought that these immigrants needed to be turned into productive workers, and that concern is where a lot of our public spaces come from. The ornaments do not represent the history of the world; rather, they represent what the past chose to celebrate and commemorate. There is no path to a peaceful and prosperous country without challenging and rejecting that as a basis for our society. Many celebrities have asked that their names be added to the list over the years, including David Beckham, Bill Morris, Mary Seacole, Benny Hill, and Paul Gascoigne. The removal of Confederate statues is a painful reminder of the countrys racist past and present. {mosads}George Washington is one example of the traditional standard in action. GORDON-REED: I suppose, if people want to, everything can pave the way to some other point. There are at least two reasons for not permitting contemporaneous vices to disqualify historical figures from favorable commemoration. 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. How do we know if statues are supposed to tell the story of our ancestors? 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. 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. [42], Jefferson is the author of two of our most dear principles as a country: equality and religious freedom. What that signals is a shift in power.. We can do that. [35]. 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. I think the problem with that is that the balance of power in communities can be really problematic. I think what you see with the Lee monument and this new time capsule is a good example of how we can handle that. They glorify people who were responsible for terrible things. Or they go up because of T.J.s views on separation of church and state and other values that we hold dear. Here's Why., nbcnews.com, June 1, 2017, 51. As a result, when you reach the tierra, you will reach the arena. Gordon-Reed is a professor of history and the Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School. Sarah Fling, The Formerly Enslaved Household of the Grant Family, whitehousehistory.org, Apr. And that is, in fact, a very imperialist vision. Theres one school of thought that says communities should be the ones to decide. The statues do not cause racism and could be used to fight racism if put into historical context. However, preservationism remains the dominant outlook of the sector. SINHA: Exactly. The removal of monuments erases the memory of those who fought against them in defense of the values they represent. The concept of La Raza -as* -as* is based on the idea that all latinos are united in EEUU and that they are committed to aquella tradition. They are both excellent candidates for the kind of contextualization you alluded to. ASU News sat down with Lamp, whose current scholarship focuses on the classical influence on U.S. public art, memorials and monuments, and how those sites guide understandings of citizenship and civic participation, to learn more about the issues at play in this ongoing dialogue. She was supposed to be the civil rights movements most visible figure until she became pregnant. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. Do we protect Confederate graves and battlefields? ASU Associate Professor of English Kathleen Lamp, a historian who specializes in the rhetoric of public art, including memorials and monuments, said such controversy is as old as time.
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