How can Americans ignore the pain that black citizens, especially, must feel when they walk by the [John C.] Calhoun monument, or any similar statues, on their way to work, school or Bible study? The psychological impact of such a devastating loss cannot be underestimated when attempting to understand the primary motivations behind Southern memorialization. The Make It Right Project was founded in 2018 to encourage removal of Confederate monuments. Erin Thompson, an art crime professor at the City University of New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said statues generally weren't created to foster goodwill, but as an intimidation tactic. What's next for statue", "Confederate statue removed from historic North Carolina courthouse", "North Carolina takes down Confederate Civil War battle flag after protest", "Protesters remove 2 Confederate statues from Capitol, hanging 1 from Raleigh lightpost", "NC governor orders Confederate monuments removed at Capitol after statues toppled", "Governor Cooper orders crews remove two Confederate monuments at Capitol building", "Workers dismantling 75-foot Confederate monument at NC Capitol", "Witnessing 'a new history.' "But seeing somebody up on a pedestal is so powerful that it's hard to believe that putting up a little bit of additional text, or putting up another statue nearby is really going to overcome that effective," she added. [16] The peak in construction of Civil War Monuments occurred between the late 1890s up to 1920, with a second, smaller peak in the late 1950s to mid 1960s. These Americans were coping with genuine loss. Why did a predominantly black district have streets named after Southern generals? The "Second Annual International Take 'Em Down" conference was scheduled for March 22–24, 2019, in. He called the current climate to dismantle or destroy Confederate monuments as an "age of idiocy", motivated by "elements hell-bent on tearing apart unity that generations of Americans have painfully constructed". On August 25, 2020, the, On February 6, 2017, the Charlottesville City Council also voted to remove the equestrian statue of Lee. The U.S. Army said it would rename Fort Bragg and its other military bases named for Confederate generals. [6][7][8][9][10], The vast majority of these Confederate monuments were built during the era of Jim Crow laws, from 1877 to 1964. "But there is a place for these statues and the place is in some sort of museum and not in the public space, which is meant to be shared by all people.". [63], On March 8, 2020, the Virginia legislature "passed measures that would undo an existing state law that protects the monuments and instead let local governments decide their fate. At the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, the plinth of Silent Sam and its plaques were removed on January 14, 2019, at the direction of Chancellor Carol Folt (see below). ", "Gadsden County removes Confederate statue in Quincy", "University of Florida removes confederate monument in St. Augustine", "Kriseman removes Confederate marker from St. Pete's waterfront", "St. Pete Mayor Orders Removal Of Confederate Marker", "Florida Senate jettisons Confederate battle flag from seal", "These 5 states still use Confederate symbols in their flags", "For Tampa's Confederate monument, racist history clouds claims of heritage", "Electrical fire, [Hurricane] Irma blamed for Lee Elementary fire", "Confederate Statue Gets New Home In Brandon Family Cemetery", "How to move a 14-ton, century old Confederate monument", "Hillsborough judge denies request for injunction to halt removal of Confederate monument in Tampa", "Southern heritage groups sue to keep Confederate monument at old Tampa courthouse", https://www.tampabay.com/news/hillsborough/2020/06/01/giant-confederate-flag-lowered-after-threats-to-set-it-on-fire/}}, "West Palm removes Confederate monument from city cemetery", "Confederate monument removal begins in West Palm Beach", "PBC board dropped Jeff Davis' name from school 10 years ago this week | Extra Credit", "Confederate holidays booted from state calendar", "Confederate Memorial Day is still celebrated in these states", "These Atlanta neighbors no longer wanted to live on Confederate Avenue. The event was live streamed on Youtube to an audience of more than 500. Winfree and others joined a greater discussion in 2020 about Confederate monuments, busts and imagery across Tennessee. But as some fight to preserve the monuments, even a descendant of Lee, Rev. Hill monument by VCU Libraries Commons licensed under Creative Commons. [18] Another historian, Karyn Cox, from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, has written that the monuments are "a legacy of the brutally racist Jim Crow era". With more Confederate statues than any other state, Virginia has been at the center of the monument debate. But what about the sign? [34] However, Civil War historian David Blight asked: "Why, in the year [2016], should communal spaces in the South continue to be sullied by tributes to those who defended slavery? ", "Virginia Removes Its Robert E. Lee Statue From U.S. Capitol", "Court Action Forces Confederate Museum to Close", "Texas Built a Confederate Memorial on a Street Named for Martin Luther King Jr", "Traces of the Confederacy in Washington, not all gone with the wind", "Washington National Cathedral to remove stained glass windows honoring Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson", "Protesters topple only Confederate statue in the nation's capital", "Who was Confederate General Albert Pike, and why was his statue in DC in the first place? Here's where", "Announcing the Launch of the Make It Right Project", "Jefferson Davis statue torn down in Richmond", "Take Down All Symbols of White Supremacy", "Whose Heritage? Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials is an ongoing process in the United States since the 1960s. CUNY John Jay College Art Crime Professor Erin Thompson. 50–51. I think we lack imagination when we talk about memorials. "[77][78] Another 2017 poll, by HuffPost/YouGov, found that 48% of respondents favored the "remain" option, 33% favored removal, and 18% were unsure. Renamed Palm Springs Middle School in 2005. ", "Virginia Military Institute removing Confederate statue", "Randolph College removes statue of Confederate solider [sic]", "Unity Braxton MS & Unity Reed HS - Prince William County Public Schools", "Norfolk removes Confederate soldier statue from downtown monument", "Petersburg School Board votes to remove Confederate names from three schools", "After $20K donation, 3 schools change Confederate names", "School honoring Confederate general renamed Barack Obama Elementary", "Portsmouth Mayor: Move Confederate monument to cemetery", "Confederate statues: In 2020, a renewed battle in America's enduring Civil War", "Confederate monument in Virginia covered with trash bags", "Statue of Jefferson Davis torn down on Monument Avenue", "Confederate monuments tagged with anti-racist messages – in pictures", "Stonewall Jackson statue, other Confederate monuments come down along Richmond's Monument Avenue", "Richmond removes statue of Confederate Gen. J.E.B. 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. "[33], Eric Foner, a historian of the Civil War and biographer of Lincoln, argued that more statues of African Americans like Nat Turner should be erected. The wave of removals also expanded outside the United States to remove statues in England, Belgium, and New Zealand. [106] They will be replaced with statues of Johnny Cash and journalist and state NAACP president Daisy L. Gatson Bates, who played a key role in the integration of Little Rock's Central High School in 1957. [87] According to a writer for Another Chicago Magazine discussing the removal of the Baltimore monuments, she is "defiant.... [H]er imposing presence combines maternal nurturing with power. Renaming of public schools. The statue was first placed in front of the monument before its removal, then raised to the pedestal. "[30], Robert Seigler, in his study of Confederate monuments in South Carolina, found that out of the over one hundred and seventy that he documented, only five monuments were found dedicated to the African Americans who had been used by the Confederacy working "on fortifications, and had served as musicians, teamsters, cooks, servants, and in other capacities." – TrackBill", "Memphis Changes Names of 3 Confederate-Themed Parks", "Memphis renames 3 parks that honored Confederacy", "Memphis City Council votes on ordinance to remove Confederate statues", "Strickland: 'No place' for hate groups in Memphis; city expects to sue state over Confederate monuments", "Nathan Bedford Forrest statue in Memphis draws protesters overnight", "Memphis to remove Confederate statues overnight following sale of public parks", "Memphis to Jefferson Davis: 'Na na na na, hey, hey, goodbye, "Removing Confederate statues 'only the beginning' for Memphis Greenspace", "Judge rules Confederate statues removal by Memphis is legal", "Family With Memphis Ties Wants Bust Of Captain J. Harvey Mathes, Confederate Soldier, Returned", "The Contested Image of Nathan Bedford Forrest", "Daughters of the Confederacy reluctantly accepts Vanderbilt deal", "Nashville school pledges to remove statue of confederate soldier from its campus", "Nashville school to remove Confederate soldier Sam Davis statue", "Confederate flag's history is 'sick' and 'twisted, "NEW MONUMENT TO BE ERECTED IN PLACE OF KIRBY-SMITH MEMORIAL", "How Six Flags Over Texas overreacted to the Confederate controversy", "Is this North Texas school district finally ready to shed its Confederate imagery? William L. Cabell Elementary School, named after, Stonewall Jackson Elementary School (1939) in. Confederate flags were removed from the Chapel in the mid-1990s "reportedly to improve acoustics". Friends of the Public Gardens, a Boston-based community restoration organization said that "the cost for cleaning a piece of sculpture is approximately $700, while the cost for full restoration can be $20,000-$25,000.". Many municipalities in the United States have removed monuments and memorials on public property dedicated to the Confederate States of America (CSA), and some, such as Silent Sam in North Carolina, have been torn down by protestors. In May a six-month court injunction staying the removal was issued as a result of legal action by the. [39] A few months later, in August 2017, a state of emergency was declared in Virginia after a Unite the Right rally against the removal of the Robert Edward Lee statue in Charlottesville turned violent. "I think there are really two conversations going on. "[365], As part of the worldwide George Floyd protests, members of the Black Lives Matter movement have also removed or defaced statues of other historical figures that were responsible or alleged of causing suffering or harm against Black people. Leave monuments marking their participation on the battlefields of the war, but tear down those that only commemorate the intolerance, violence, and hate that inspired their attempt to destroy the American nation. "Statutes have always been about power," said Thompson, who has a doctorate in art history and a law degree. Three Confederate-themed city parks were "hurriedly renamed" prior to passage of the. [84] They show monuments being taken down and hauled away: Silent Sam, the Confederate Soldiers Monument in Durham, North Carolina, the Confederate Women's Monument in Baltimore, the Jefferson Davis Monument in New Orleans, and two others. The Confederate Soldiers Monument in Winston-Salem was removed as a public nuisance, and a similar monument in Pittsboro was removed after a court ruled that it had never become county property, so the statute did not apply. Robert E. Lee Elementary School (1939) was renamed for local photographer, Jeff Davis Avenue. "I'm suggesting we use the scale and grandeur of those monuments against themselves. "[60] The same has been said about Florida's law. Removed July 22, 2020. "[24] Harold Holzer, the director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, agreed that the statues were designed to belittle African Americans. [85], In the case of many monuments, after they are removed the pedestals or plinths remain. In November 2017, the cover of Harper’s Magazine featured, On August 16, 2017, the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island removed a 1912 plaque from a tree, Busts of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. 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