Historical Memory Of The Memorial

On the anniversary of Lincoln’s assassination and the emancipation of slaves in D.C., on April 14, 1876, a memorial of Abraham Lincoln was put on full display. Frederick Douglass, a former slave and advocate of black citizens, gave an arousing address during the celebration. This speech is given 11 years after the assassination of Lincoln and during this time in the U.S. many political issues are arising. For instance, the government ordered all Native Americans onto the reservations on the western side of the United States causing many of them to fight back the government. The presidential election also had its despairing moments when the democratic nomination won the popular vote but then lost in the Electoral and many were still feeling the effects of the Lincoln’s assassination. The monument shows a black kneeling at Lincoln’s feet which Douglass had his issues with. He questioned why the man was not standing as a free man.

No matter what a person’s race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation is, everyone should enjoy equality. In the speech Speech Upon the Removal of Confederate Monuments by Mitch Landrieu, the Mayor of New Orleans, the removal of the Confederate monuments in New Orleans is discussed. The speech emphasises the fact that the Confederacy was wrong pertaining to their treatment of African Americans, and instead of teaching history, the Confederate monuments convey an image of inequality and violence. Mitch Landrieu argues for the deconstruction of historic Confederate monuments through his allusions to past historic events to contrast the modern shift of equality, so he can call the people to action to deconstruct the monuments. Through the

“‘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.

Not so long ago few Americans spoke of slavery – which was swept under the rug until the civil rights movement in the 1950s. The shame of slavery gradually rose to public consciousness over the last five decades. Now the topic appears everywhere, in movies, television documentaries and academia. Nearly every major museum has mounted an exhibition on slavery. This issue has become an integral part of the foundation for understanding America’s past. With specific attributes, slavery is distinct from all other forms of oppression, giving it a unique place in human history. Many consider Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) as the best among anti-slavery propaganda that appeared with increasing frequency during the years preceding the Civil War. The primary reason of its appeal is the unsurpassed clarity of Douglass’ writing, which displays his superior sensitivity and intellectual capacity as he addresses the woeful irony of the existence of slavery in a Christian, democratic

Confederate statues depict anti-abolitionists as heroes and very honorable men, therefore they should be removed. These men who are depicted as heroes fought for the institution of slavery. These statues not only glorify anti-abolitionists but they remind people of the strong racism of the time. Many people fight for the removal of these statues for the sole reason that they “serve as constant reminders of institutional racism, segregation and

Thesis: As the debate continues on whether or not we should keep confederate monuments and symbols displayed publicly, it is important that we recognize both the benefits and downfalls of removing these symbols.

The Preservation of the Confederate Memory lives on through the Robert E. Lee memorial in Richmond. Many historians have written about the monument of Robert E. Lee and his importance to the preservation of Confederate Memory. But, recently a major debate surrounding the monument has spurred an argument between two groups. One group wants the monument to be removed or relocated from its original spot in Richmond V.A. This group believes that it is an offensive symbol in support of slavery. The other group fights to protect the monument and its location because of its importance to the southern heritage. However, trying to understand the significance of the monument requires one to look through the lenses of both groups.

In the wake of the June 17th shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, protesters have been successful in their campaign against the Confederate Battle Flag resulting in its removal from state buildings. They have pursued the issue further, arguing that all Confederate Civil War memorials should be removed. I disagree; the Confederate monuments hold too great a historical value to simply dispose of them like last night’s dinner. The monuments and memorials under fire all possess similar traits that causes social and racial tension. By first identifying these traits we can then make the necessary adjustments to remedy the issue. Again, Confederate war memorials possess a valuable glimpse into the past and are worth preserving because if we

In the article “Confederate Statues Are About Maintaining White Supremacy” is about the people who support the removal of the Confederate statues. They believe that the monuments symbolize racial injustices that were made from the past and it also emphasizes how the confederate statues represent the economic and political power of the white elites with their use of racial identity. “The monument avenue is one example of the fiendishly covetous ways Southern politicians and profiteers used racial identity, urban development, and Confederate memory to cement their own economic and political power” (Julian Maxwell). In this phrase, the author tries to emphasize why the removal of the Confederate monuments should be considered by the government

The home of Frederick Douglass is a peculiar type of museum. Located in Anacostia, Southeast DC, the home sits on top a hill removed from the rest of the neighborhood. Frederick Douglass named this hill Cedar Hill: an astounding place. The park is a national site, so park rangers guides the tours and gives any information one wanted to know about Mr. Douglass, his family, or the house. Before going into the actual museum, the park rangers give the option of watching a film about Frederick Douglass. While the rangers prepared the film, visitors are allowed to look around the part of the museum that hold quotes and busts of Mr. Douglass. What I read and saw is a warped narrative in comparison to how Howard University taught me. The works displayed gives the false pretense that Mr. Douglass’ radical agenda was for the progress of the United States for the ends of the liberation of Black

Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America, a Lincoln Prize winner, was written by Allen C. Guelzo and published in 2004. In the book, he makes a case that President Abraham Lincoln, through the utilization of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, was efficacious in liberating the slaves. His argument varies from others that have visually examined the argument pertaining to the Emancipation Proclamation and whether it did, or did not, efficaciously emancipate slaves during the Civil War. On the antithesis side of his argument are those who do not visually perceive Lincoln as the “Great Emancipator” and argue that the executive order did not genuinely free the slaves in the broadest term but only those who lived in states that were declared in revolt. Therefore, those slave states that were not formally in revolt to the United States did not have to liberate their slaves because of the Proclamation leaving millions of them in involuntary servitude. Because of the differing viewpoint of others, Guelzo offers a consequential contribution to the field of study pertaining to Lincoln, slavery, and the Civil War.

There are an infinitely amount of events that have occurred throughout the history of mankind. Yet, it is impossible for any single person to recollect or to have lived through all of the events that have happened in the world. Because of this, we as a society can only witness second-hand what has been documented by those who actually lived through these events before us. With this documentation comes a lot of trust, because without living through historical events, it is impossible for one to really know what is and isn’t true. This is why we must ensure that the history that is remembered, is in fact the truth, and the entire story. Unfortunately, those in power have chosen to leave out many portions of our history; and as a society, we must change this so that truth prevails. A prime example of this is the Battle of Liberty Place Monument in Louisiana. The Battle of Liberty Place monument in Louisiana only tells half the history of an event that should never be forgotten. The vision it currently displays is that White lives mean more than Blacks lives do, and it does this by honoring only the lives lost of racist White supremacists in a fight of discrimination. This is atrocious and yet this ideal that Black lives don’t matter has been present and still affects American society to this day. We plan on changing this monument to show the whole truth of the event, and highlighting the terrible racism that occurred during this event so that we may learn from it, and never

One can feel the grief and misfortune by looking at this panel. The next scene is when the slaves are forcefully taken from their homes and tortured on a ship to cramped for the African Americans. As you go farther, black soldiers are marching onto the civil war, holding guns and swords with the mindset of yearning liberty. The first man is holding a flag with the words “South Carolina” and “God Gives Liberty”. As the monument goes on, it analyzes an image with the words “emancipation proclamation” and black people men and women and bowing down. Their facial and hand gestures, present joy and happiness in their eyes. As one moves away from the “emancipation proclamation”, one gets to more phrases and a man standing in between all these phrases. Phrases included “Freedmens bureau”, “15th amendment”, “Forty acres and a mule”. “14th Amendment”, “Jim-Crow Lass”, “Black Codes”, “sharecropping”. “Segregator”, “Lynching”, “Plessy vs. Ferguson”, “Convict Labor System”, and “Abridgement”. The panels starts including more ideas of freedom for African Americans and continues to the

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.

The memorials name was established after Zack “Sunshine” and Katie Eide, whose lives were lost in a tragic accident in 2009. The memorial honors them, and other children whose lives were lost within Pinal County. Each item in the memorial symbolizes the youths lives. The birds represent their carefree nature, the flowers represent their growth here in the city and the suns represent the light that they brought to their friends and