September 29th, 2017
Written by - Dorothy Bogen '20
The recent events in Charlottesville have amplified already growing cries for the removal of Confederate statues. But, for as many calls as there are for their removal, there are just as many calls for them to remain. One of the more seemingly rational arguments for keeping them is that to remove the statues would be to erase history. Similarly, some also believe the removal will not end with Confederate generals, but continue with monuments of Washington and Jefferson, who were slave owners. Yet, this argument is illogical and diverts attention from what is really at stake if we allow these monuments to remain. Furthermore, the advocacy for the addition of new statues instead of the removal of current ones is wholly inadequate
Let’s start with the argument of erasing history. A statue or a monument’s primary purpose is to commemorate and, arguably, glorify a person or event. It’s purpose is not, however, to educate or document history in the same way as a museum or a textbook does. By removing Confederate statues, we are not erasing the history but the glory that still surrounds the Confederacy today. Furthermore, these monuments were not made as benign preservations of history. As the mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu, noted in a speech justifying the removal of Confederate statues, they were constructed “to send a message that the Confederacy was really the right cause, and not the wrong cause.” This message is one of a revisionist history in which white supremacy is a morally justifiable cause, or in other words, glorified. These statues were never intended for historical significance or education, but as a way for white supremacists to assert their dominance long after the end of the Civil War. To leave these statues standing is to perpetuate the inaccurate glory our country still can’t seem to separate from the Confederacy and white supremacy. We can still learn and grow from our past without having it enshrined in stone. In fact, the removal of these statues would be a much-needed step towards growth and healing for a racial divide rooted in slavery.
“But where will it end?” This question is commonly used by those advocating for Confederate statues to stay. Their concern is based on the idea that historical figures who owned slaves, such as Jefferson and Washington, will also begin to be removed from the public eye. But as Harvard professor of American history, Annette Gordon-Reed, points out, “we can distinguish between people who wanted to build the United States of America and people who wanted to destroy it.” It is important to recognize slave ownership as an inexcusable flaw in historical figures that must be remembered alongside noble accomplishments. However, in the case of Confederate generals and officials, there is no other noble accomplishments. They fought for their supposed right to own other human beings of a different race. Their fight was and still is the antithesis of everything America has strived for for centuries. Therefore, it’s insulting to try to equate the Founding Fathers and Confederates and this argument only serves to deflect from a more difficult conversation about this country’s complex history of racism and bigotry.
The cause of the Confederacy was asserting white supremacy in order to justify and maintain slavery, so therefore their statues ultimately have the same message. As historian Kevin Levin writes in a piece for the Atlantic, “Confederate monuments were erected and dedicated by white southerners as an expression of their collective values—chief among them a commitment to white supremacy that secessionists were willing to die for.” To put this repulsive ideal on a pedestal is an assault on American values and Americans of color. So, the suggestions of adding new statues with civil rights activists, while well-intentioned, are not enough. How can we put someone who fought for human rights on the same level (literally) as someone who sought to take them away? At the end of the day, a new statue won’t remove the symbolism of white supremacy inherent to Confederate monuments.
Confederate monuments are symbols of white supremacy whether we want to acknowledge that fact or not. White supremacy is the most vile institution to ever plague this country. Given its recent vocal resurgence online and on the ground in Charlottesville, it is imperative we, as Americans, come together and reject white supremacy and its glorification in all forms, including statues.
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