should statues be removed pros and cons

Pro and Con: Historic Statue Removal in the United States No one puts a monument up to Washington or Jefferson to promote slavery. Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. GAZETTE: What do you say to those who argue that the removal of such statues in prominent public settings dishonors the memory of those who died fighting for the Confederacy? Should Statues Be Removed and Destroyed? | Guest Contributor - Politics Red According to media reports, at least 11 statues were severely damaged or destroyed during the true civil rebellion in 2017. The statue was defaced, there was a lot of graffiti that dealt with defunding the police, and there are some incredibly powerful images that were taken during that time, some of which are going into the new time capsule. But the traditional standard does help minimize political manipulation of history. They harbored cultural bias. They are a part of our cultural heritage. Must we allow symbols of racism on public land? In fact, even Robert E. Lee opposed Confederate statues. Why the Christopher Columbus Statue Came Down in Chicago So what do you think of moving into a broader swath of statues coming down and - or being targeted? Sarah Fling, The Formerly Enslaved Household of the Grant Family, whitehousehistory.org, Apr. Eight US presidents owned slaves while in office, with an additional four owning slaves while not in office. Defunding the humanities, cutting history classes and departments. I think in general in this country, statues have held up a very white, male virtue. They provide a sense of identity and pride for many people. The removal of Confederate statues is a painful reminder of the countrys racist past and present. Statues elevate a person from a historical event rather than demystify it. Becky Little, How the Cult of Robert E. Lee Was Born, history.com, Aug. 14, 2017, 18. Lee was distinguished from his contemporaries by an exemplary career, both in the U.S. and Confederate armies, of competence and honor. The Pros And Cons Of Keeping Political Statues In Public Spaces Plaques can describe the history of slavery and the Civil War, as well as the white supremacist legacy that led to the creation of such monuments. In illuminating how vulnerable Americans have long been to ugly racial appeals, and how willfully blind we have been to racial injustice, those statues could remind us of the catastrophic consequences of not putting bigotry aside. [51], Some jurisdictions have chosen to put explanatory plaques beside Confederate monuments to teach a more complete history. Statues play a critical role in society. How do we know if statues are supposed to tell the story of our ancestors? The principal legacy of Confederate statues is white supremacy and slavery. Do we protect Confederate graves and battlefields? emma.greguska@asu.edu. 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. Tomas Strakas Vida Poltica de las Estatuas is a collection of essays. Beyond building monuments to honor black Americans, monuments could employ and elevate living black artists, such as Kehinde Wiley, whose 2019 Rumors of War statue depicts a black man on horseback in a pose reminiscent of statues of Robert E. Lee. The police killing of George Floyd sparked widespread protests and reignited efforts across the U.S. to remove Confederate and other statues viewed as symbols of slavery and racism. If we disqualified all figures because we now reject their societys practices, we would commemorate few people indeed, and we would deprive ourselves of many sources of inspiration. There are valid arguments on both sides, and there is no easy answer. Jack Jenkins, How the Charleston Shooting Is Linked to the Confederate Flag, According to A South Carolinian, thinkprogress.org, June 19, 2015, 3. We see this in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol. History will still be taught. Natalie Huet, Sir Geoff Palmer, Dont Take down Statues - Take down Racism, euronews.com, June 11, 2020, 54. That if monuments embody community values, then it should be a community decision. [14] [17]. Taney's bust was replaced with one of Thurgood Marshall. It is unfortunate that they are considered public art works rather than memorializing them. The rally protested the proposed removal of statues of Confederate Army GeneralsRobert E. LeeandStonewall Jackson. Since the statues and properties are not intrinsically bad, we do not remove and destroy them. The history of destroying monuments shows the dangers of tearing them down. Confederate statues depict anti-abolitionists as heroes and very honorable men, therefore they should be removed. Were holding them up as a model of civic identity, of what the rest of us should be doing. I think it dishonors them to celebrate the men who killed them and tried to kill off the American nation. It is not possible to have them live in a single location at the same time. Rebecca Klar, Arthur Ashe Statue on Richmond's Monument Avenue Tagged with White Lives Matter Graffiti, thehill.com, June 17, 2020, 50. 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. John Daniel Davidson, Political Editor at The Federalist, explained, That they were wrong about slavery does not excuse us today from the burden of trying to understand what motivated them to fightand what motivated them and their families to undertake a flurry of monument-building decades later as the surviving veterans began to die off A more mature society would recognize that the past is always with you and must always be kept in mind.

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