Dylan Roof

Imagine walking through a town plaza and suddenly spotting a bust depicting Adolf Hitler, or a statue of a Nazi Swastika. A passerby may stare in horror upon its recognition, and wonder why a symbol of such hatred and violence is displayed prominently in a town. These statues would incite an uproar and immediate demands to remove such offensive monuments. Thankfully, such a situation would never arise in modern America; however, a similar plight is unfolding across the country concerning the removal of Confederate statues. Confederate statues should not be displayed in public areas because they are reminders of a time when racial violence went unpunished, they are honoring people who wanted to keep other

Faced by recent protests and events, memorials and monuments remembering Robert E. Lee and the Confederacy should be removed from public areas because they were not originally built to honor them, but rather to convey the message of white supremacy and continuing slavery, and into museums or archives. Most statues were built in the early 1900’s, during a time of racial segregation and the implementation of the Jim Crow laws. It is no coincidence that most of these statues were built during this time, when whites felt and were indeed superior to blacks. The message was clear that they wanted to maintain white supremacy and subjugate blacks. Eric Zorn writes that southerners built these statues as “middle fingers to those who battled segregation

The removal of Confederate monuments has been a controversial topic over the past few years. Many want to tear them down, others want to keep them up and some want them to be moved to museums. Although controversial, many still do not know why exactly people want these statues to tear down or be kept up. After reading and analyzing both Michele Bogart’s and The Guardian’s view on Confederate statues, I would say that Michele Bogart’s “In Defense of ‘Racist’ Monuments” article was the most persuasive. Right off the bat, Michele Bogart starts off with how the rise of white nationalism is causing officials around the country to remove memorials of Confederate soldiers, military leaders, and symbols of “the Lost Cause”. Bogart clearly states that not all civic statues represent white supremacy or racism, but that they are “the culmination of complex social and artistic engagement at the community level” (Bogart). She further explains how eliminating these statues is not going to help solve the problem of racism in the United States. Her purpose in this essay is to persuade the reader that civic monuments should be kept up as pieces of art, not as “symbols of hate”.

Many years prior to the Civil War, Confederate statues, monuments, and other historical figures were placed thoroughly through the nation to represent the the remembrance of the Confederacy. In the “Monumental Battle” article, Laura Anastasia tells of the growing controversy that this nation has about the removal of Confederate monuments. The statues were placed to instill fear in the hearts of African Americans and portray a dominantly white future. THESIS !

In the article “I Detest Our Confederate Monuments. But They Should Remain”, by Lawrence Kuznar, an anthropologist writes about the Confederate Monuments and why they should remain. Kuznar believes by removing the monuments, it makes no difference. Regardless of whether history is favorable or not, the monuments exist in places that are designed to celebrate their subjects. These statues and monuments have no place in town squares, city parks or any other public place beyond battlefields, private property or out of view from the public.

In the article it states, “Although the monument was created to honor the sacrifice of local Confederate soldiers, it must also remind us that the defeat of the Confederacy actually meant freedom for millions of people”(Anastasia, 3). This

There are many symbols from the Civil War that embrace and celebrate the ideals of the Confederate States of America (CSA): the “stars and bars” of the CSA flag, high schools who are nicknamed “Rebels”, and just a few miles from Lake Braddock is a major highway, the Jefferson Davis Highway, named after the President of CSA. Today, over 150 years after the creation of the CSA, these symbols need to be abolished as they are offensive to a significant number of Americans. Though there might be many secondary reasons for the creation of the CSA and the start of the Civil War, the primary reason was for the “right” of white people to enslave black people. The symbols that celebrate the Confederacy, therefore, are also symbols celebrating the

“Why We Should Keep the Confederate Monuments Right Where They Are” by John Daniel Davidson contains many assumptions throughout his work. One of the first assumptions made in the article is that all readers hold the value that racism is a negative. This concept may apply to many individuals, but the presence of white supremacy still exists in modern day society. Another assumption is made that people view monuments as a source of honor to a bunch of racists who fought to preserve slavery. As discovered in the prescribed reading, I found that some audiences view statues as a reminder to not repeat past mistakes and to reflect on historical events rather than an honorary element celebrating racist generals.

Mitch Landrieu wrote an article called “PRO/CON: Should cities be allowed to take down Confederate Monuments?” proclaiming how having confederate monuments can be both negative and positive depending on the point of view you withhold. Although confederate monuments bring moral bad values to the present, the big influence it has towards education heavily outweighs the denial to destroy history. According to Landrieu it “teach important lessons.” This is significant because every day millons of young teengers enter a social studies class not knowing anything about history and the only thing that in fact stands from decades is a confederate monument which has more than a meaning of a hero begin it. Not only does it educate them, but it opens there

After careful consideration I have decided that Confederate monuments should not be aloud in public places. These monuments stand for things that our country doesn’t. I think even if we take down the monuments that we will never forget our history. I still think that we should keep some monuments ,but in museums and for learning because we need to teach children about our past so they

There are 700 monuments that commemorate the Confederacy and Confederate generals. The majority of these monuments are in the South, where the Confederacy was born. These monuments were not erected immediately after the Civil War. Instead, the monuments were erected a generation later during the Jim Crow Laws and once more in the Civil Rights Movement. The controversy began when a Confederate, Dylan Roof, shot black citizens in a church in South Carolina. After the incident, the South Carolinian government removed the Confederate flag and other Confederate symbols from the state capitols. Other states followed suit. However, people have met these actions with criticism. This scenario occurred once more with the recent unrest in Charlottesville.

Imagine your children living in a world full of hatred, prejudice, and discrimination from their brothers and sisters of America. The ultimate reality where a minority man or woman can’t cross the street without feeling vulnerable or concerned of an issue occurring because of who they are. I am telling you this because if we let the Robert E. Lee statue remain standing, our world will become a dystopia of animosity and bigotry with the support of White Supremacists and Neo-Nazis. In the late 1800’s, President Lincoln wanted to abolish slavery all throughout the United States, however, the South believed that it was unconstitutional to eradicate slavery. Due to the disagreement about slavery between the Union and the Confederates, they began the American Civil War and endured the four years of combat casualties on both sides, until the Union won and slavery was completely abolished. Subsequently, many statues emerged in southern states honoring Confederate soldiers and leaders that fought against the Union in the Civil War, such as the Robert E. Lee monument. With rich history, like ours, we can see the evolution in our society and learn from our racial, degrading, and dishonorable actions that has affected one to several millions of Americans. Although the Robert E. Lee statue is a form of history, the statues need to be removed from the public property because of the true representation behind the monument and the pain in remembering our infamous racial past.

A recent hot-button subject in the media has been what to do with Confederate monuments in the South. After the removal of a statue honoring Robert E. Lee, a general in the Confederate Army considered by many to be a hero for the part he played in the American Civil War, a clear divide has formed over whether it was the right thing to do. Some agree with this choice, calling the statues remnants from a time of racial oppression in the United States. Others are outraged, considering it desecration of their proud history. Still others don't understand either side of the issue, and see it as a pointless feud. It is imperative to understand that to many people, these are more than just statues. Whether their impression is positive or negative, this issue goes beyond physical monuments.

First, removing all these statues and monuments cost a lot of money and take a long time. For example, The cost to remove all the monuments and statues in New Orleans could cost $600,000. Thats a lot of money for one city to pay for, and that money could be used for more important things. Another reason I feel that we should keep these statues and monuments because it’s a part of our history. Yes, the Confederacy did believe in slavery, but it isn’t about honoring slavery. It’s about understanding that this is what we once were as a nation. Keeping this symbolizes how far we’ve come as a country and how much we’ve progressed. Taking these monuments down would be in a way an attempt to erase our

“‘A great nation does not hide its history, it faces its flaws and corrects them.”’ George W. Bush spoke these words at the grand opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (Nelson). He said this in hopes of keeping monuments reflecting slavery and segregation standing so people today could learn from mistakes in the past. Most monuments dealing with the topic of slavery are Confederate monuments, but they are causing controversy over their true meaning. Some people believe Confederate monuments are about southern pride, but many think they are symbols of racism (Ingraham). The debate over these monuments has caused violent protests like in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a Robert E. Lee statue was removed. Although Confederate monuments anger many people because of the history behind them, they provide lessons that can be taught to help end racism and make a better country. Confederate monuments and statues need to stay to preserve the history of the United States so it is not repeated, but the meaning to them should be altered to show segregation is immoral.