Yesterday the New Orleans city council voted by an overwhelming 6-1 margin to declare 4 Confederate monuments a nuisance and make way for their removal.
Monuments erected to forever immortalize Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and the forgotten Battle of Liberty Place, were the topic of a 6-month tirade that divided the city administration and their constituents. Many reasons have been given for leaving the monuments be, mostly centered around arguments of white privilege which gives one the right the ability to be empathetic to causes but never sympathetic because of the tunnel vision afforded by that benefit. Nothing positive could come from these wastes of public space and tax dollars and the fact that their offensiveness can not be seen ESPECIALLY in post-racial 'Merica speaks to the intelligence possessed by the detractors. In fact, the monuments for Beauregard and Lee showcase the generals in full Confederate regalia, and accordingly, do little to showcase either in a positive light either before or after their service in the Confederate army, only rewarding that particular service. Furthermore, the actions of these men after the conclusion of the war do little, in my opinion, to rectify the travesties they committed in the name of the Confederacy.
Beauregard, reluctant to seek amnesty for his war crimes, was finally restored full citizenship in 1876. His post-war life saw him as a railroad executive who even invented a cable-powered predecessor to modern day streetcars. He was the supervisor of the Louisiana Lottery until it was disbanded and subsequently elected as the commissioner of public works in New Orleans, two positions he was granted undoubtedly by Confederate supporters.
Davis, a former slave owner, held a position within an insurance company, was offered to be the first president of what is now Texas A&M (he declined), did not publicly express his views but was known by close associates to remark that blacks were inferior and that secession was constitutional. His citizenship was restored in 1978.
Lee thought that slavery was an act of God and that it would end when God himself was ready for it to conclude. He served as the president of what is now Washington & Lee University, where he punished students who engaged in violence towards blacks with expulsion. However, Lee also wanted to have blacks deported from Virginia and thought they lacked the intelligence to effectively utilize the right to vote (possibly why he was such a supporter of education for blacks.)
Beauregard, reluctant to seek amnesty for his war crimes, was finally restored full citizenship in 1876. His post-war life saw him as a railroad executive who even invented a cable-powered predecessor to modern day streetcars. He was the supervisor of the Louisiana Lottery until it was disbanded and subsequently elected as the commissioner of public works in New Orleans, two positions he was granted undoubtedly by Confederate supporters.
Davis, a former slave owner, held a position within an insurance company, was offered to be the first president of what is now Texas A&M (he declined), did not publicly express his views but was known by close associates to remark that blacks were inferior and that secession was constitutional. His citizenship was restored in 1978.
Lee thought that slavery was an act of God and that it would end when God himself was ready for it to conclude. He served as the president of what is now Washington & Lee University, where he punished students who engaged in violence towards blacks with expulsion. However, Lee also wanted to have blacks deported from Virginia and thought they lacked the intelligence to effectively utilize the right to vote (possibly why he was such a supporter of education for blacks.)
What troubled me most about these proceedings is the commentary of many of the citizens of New Orleans, some of which I'll respond to in this post:
"Removal of the monuments effectively rewrites history"
No the removal of the monuments do not rewrite history. The Civil War did occur, it WAS indeed over states' rights, particularly the right to designate other persons as property and who could and could not vote, and there is nothing we can do to change that. But to honor these "veterans," and I use that term loosely, for a plight that was defeated does not further any interests of the nation as a whole. They belong in their proper context, in a museum, or if you want to ultimately "show your respect," do so at their final resting place. Take that into consideration, complimented with a quote from the paper when Lee circle was dedicated; "We cannot ignore the fact that the secession has been stigmatized as treason and that the purest and bravest men in the South have been denounced as guilty of shameful crime...by every appliance of literature and art, we must show to all coming ages that with us, at least, there dwells no sense of guilt." Or add the text of the Battle of Liberty Place memorial; "McEnery and Penny having been elected governor and lieutenant-governor by the white people, were duly installed by this overthrow of carpetbag government, ousting the usurpers, Governor Kellogg (white) and Lieutenant-Governor Antoine (colored). United States troops took over the state government and reinstated the usurpers but the national election of November 1876 recognized white supremacy in the South and gave us our state. What am I missing here? Even if someone is using this as an attempt to re-write history, is this history that need be acknowledged from that standpoint? Are you guys proud of this one? You feel comfortable to let people know that you allegedly once felt this way?
No the removal of the monuments do not rewrite history. The Civil War did occur, it WAS indeed over states' rights, particularly the right to designate other persons as property and who could and could not vote, and there is nothing we can do to change that. But to honor these "veterans," and I use that term loosely, for a plight that was defeated does not further any interests of the nation as a whole. They belong in their proper context, in a museum, or if you want to ultimately "show your respect," do so at their final resting place. Take that into consideration, complimented with a quote from the paper when Lee circle was dedicated; "We cannot ignore the fact that the secession has been stigmatized as treason and that the purest and bravest men in the South have been denounced as guilty of shameful crime...by every appliance of literature and art, we must show to all coming ages that with us, at least, there dwells no sense of guilt." Or add the text of the Battle of Liberty Place memorial; "McEnery and Penny having been elected governor and lieutenant-governor by the white people, were duly installed by this overthrow of carpetbag government, ousting the usurpers, Governor Kellogg (white) and Lieutenant-Governor Antoine (colored). United States troops took over the state government and reinstated the usurpers but the national election of November 1876 recognized white supremacy in the South and gave us our state. What am I missing here? Even if someone is using this as an attempt to re-write history, is this history that need be acknowledged from that standpoint? Are you guys proud of this one? You feel comfortable to let people know that you allegedly once felt this way?
"I support the monuments because I am a direct descendant of a Confederate soldier"
My response to this one is chronicled in Years Later...A Few Months After; these states seceded from the union, they should have been tried as traitors and hung just as many of the slaves in the South were for much less. Their colors and flag are those of hatred, inequality, and more importantly, that of a loser. Acknowledge your family, yes, but realize that your family was a warped, demented individual who either firmly believed in or blindly followed thoughts that no civilized human being should have. I remarked just this week that white privilege enables 'Merica to pretend that the important figures of the Confederacy failed to be prosecuted for reasons other than as a goodwill gesture to the South and because they were white.
My response to this one is chronicled in Years Later...A Few Months After; these states seceded from the union, they should have been tried as traitors and hung just as many of the slaves in the South were for much less. Their colors and flag are those of hatred, inequality, and more importantly, that of a loser. Acknowledge your family, yes, but realize that your family was a warped, demented individual who either firmly believed in or blindly followed thoughts that no civilized human being should have. I remarked just this week that white privilege enables 'Merica to pretend that the important figures of the Confederacy failed to be prosecuted for reasons other than as a goodwill gesture to the South and because they were white.
"This does nothing to change the real problems of New Orleans; crime, dilapidated roadways, etc."
Hence why they were considered as "nuisances ," go research what that means. The mere presence of these monuments divide us and keep us away from the real problems, lets be done with them and get on to more important things. These statues invoke horrible feelings in a particular demographic and you are allowed to not think about these things when you casually ignore their presence because white privilege affords you the ability to do so.
Hence why they were considered as "nuisances ," go research what that means. The mere presence of these monuments divide us and keep us away from the real problems, lets be done with them and get on to more important things. These statues invoke horrible feelings in a particular demographic and you are allowed to not think about these things when you casually ignore their presence because white privilege affords you the ability to do so.
"These monuments have become integral to New Orleans infrastructure and have remained in place for decades, why the rush to change them now?"
Honestly, because we never thought we would be able to. Conventional thinking would fail to see why such monuments commemorating such times would even be constructed. The shooting in South Carolina was the catalyst to start the dialogue that maybe, just maybe, if we can eliminate the reverence to these people, maybe we can eliminate their line of thinking. Seeing the references to the Confederacy be removed from official South Carolina insignia taught us that such things are possible, and maybe eliminated some of those who were allowed the ability to ignore the message presented because it did not affect them.
Honestly, because we never thought we would be able to. Conventional thinking would fail to see why such monuments commemorating such times would even be constructed. The shooting in South Carolina was the catalyst to start the dialogue that maybe, just maybe, if we can eliminate the reverence to these people, maybe we can eliminate their line of thinking. Seeing the references to the Confederacy be removed from official South Carolina insignia taught us that such things are possible, and maybe eliminated some of those who were allowed the ability to ignore the message presented because it did not affect them.
New Orleans has long been regarded as the city that care forgot, but the actions of yesterday took us in a step toward regaining that care. However with a federal suit being filed hours after the council's decision to bar the removal of these monuments, the cause of the South may never die...
