I finally got around to watching The Daily Show’s recent segment on the Confederate monument debate. I particularly appreciate the suggestions from Trevor Noah and Roy Wood, Jr. on ways to add to public landscapes that include Confederate monuments rather than removing or relocating them.
This first one has a good deal of promise. Yes, that is Frederick Douglass riding Robert E. Lee.
and how about Lebron James dunking on a Confederate soldier statue? #BOOM!
I am not sure this is the kind of creativity that would be appreciated by the Sons of Confederate veterans.
Jared Harper
9/5/17
Confederate Monuments
Everything and anything confederate is under conflict right now. Everyone has their different opinion and belief on what the confederate monuments are really standing for. Some think it represents racism,segregation and slavery while others think it represents southern pride and heritage.
People have been making a lot of decisions on what to do with the confederate monuments that were built between the 1890s and 1950s. A lot of them have been taken down or destroyed by aggravated people. They think by removing the monuments it’s going to remove the history. To this day 1,503 monuments exist and more than 60 have been removed, this is now causing outrage in pro confederate groups that think the confederate monuments are meant to honor confederate leaders,soldiers and states.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/us/monuments-confederacy-remove-rename.html
Got from class
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/08/confederate-statues-debate-1708211047050
27.html
Got from class
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/the-stubborn-persistence-of-confederate-monuments/479751/
Got from class
What history is being removed? I really do not care what pro-Confederate groups want. The Confederacy existed to perpetuate and protect slavery. Are pro-Confederates wanting to reestablish slavery?
Or are these monuments really not about the Confederacy, but really about white supremacy? I keep hearing how pro-Confederate groups are upset about the removal of these monuments. Do they really want to protect monuments to white supremacy?
I would suggest rather than “Civil War” on the plaques, “Mint julep inspired blue ribbon Charlie Foxtrot” or “Treasonous slaveowner’s rebellion”. Pedestals converted to a pyramid of skulls would fit in well also.
Tennessee has decided to keep Forrest in the state rotunda… so that’s disappointing for us.
USA TODAY: Nathan Bedford Forrest stays in Tennessee Capitol, panel decides. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/09/01/confederate-nathan-bedford-forrest-tennessee/626988001/
There are Confederate monuments and then there is Nathan Bedford Forrest.
Given that no matter how hard you beat your “Activist Historian” head against the wall, Forrest still hasn’t been moved. Pity for you I guess. Victory for actually preserving something you constantly claim to.
Feel better now? Thanks for the comment.
Meanwhile across the country plenty of the Jim Crow monuments came down while plans to remove even more of the monuments to white supremacy moved ahead. This is about individual choices made by communities.
Also, Forrest will be moving soon enough. The momentum is building and public wants it gone. Just give it a few more election cycles and it will be moved. You see, change over time is occurring and you can only slow it down. You cannot stop it.
Another symbol of Jim Crow comes down! https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/09/06/washington-national-cathedral-removing-confederate-windows/638489001/ Keep claiming victory as the number of Jim Crow symbols dwindles across the nation. I will keep claiming victory for historically accurate history!
That’s funny stuff–thanks for posting.
On a related but more serious note, the proponents of the Denmark Vesey statue in Charleston, SC, wanted the monument to the black revolutionary to sit in Marion Square, across from the towering monument to John C. Calhoun. But the militias that own the park and lease it to the city said no. So, it ended up in Hampton Park, which gets far less tourist traffic than Marion Square. It’s a great memorial, but it would have been something to see Vesey’s visage staring down old Calhoun.
Plan on stopping by when I visit in December.
I was thinking of a Confederate soldier surrendering to a USCT soldier, would be good.