why were confederate statues erected

The mere idea of removing the statues, however, has activated people who say they want to “preserve” the monuments, arguing that it is “un-American” to remove them. A damaged nearly century-old Confederate statue li A damaged nearly century-old Confederate statue lies on a pallet in a warehouse in Durham, N.C. on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017. According to many historians, they were constructed with a very particular political agenda, something that should definitely be taken into account when debating their removal. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Activists tore down a Confederate soldier statue in Durham, North Carolina last year. Blevins' "Forever in Mourning" Chart of Union and Confederate Monuments, 1860-1920 . But it was the mass protests over the police killing of 46-year-old George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis, that sped action along. What Will New Casino Bring to Norfolk, Pamunkey Tribe? The COVID-19 Vaccine is Available in Virginia. It was also a time of great poverty in the region following its loss in the war, and the statues were seen as a way to commemorate a more prosperous past. They were built as … Houseless Residents Say They Were Evicted Without Warning in Richmond. Or as James Boyd, the NAACP chapter president for Portsmouth, another city discussing how their Confederate statues will come down, said: “People are just tired of being sick and tired.” Boyd added that the monuments represent more than 400 years of oppression. Social Justice So, why were Confederate monument erected in the first place? But there are still plenty of white people in our state who are comfortable arguing, publicly on Facebook, that Confederate statues in the commonwealth should stay standing. In the meantime, protesters in Richmond and other Virginia cities have pulled down statues themselves, including a statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. Questions Remain in Police Shooting. 1911 was a big year for putting up Confederate monuments in a number of states; across the South, numerous statues were erected during the Jim Crow era. Neither was about celebrating America. Activists and some political leaders have tried for years to remove them. But experts believe the monuments were built to send a message promoting white supremacy. What Will New Casino Bring to Norfolk, Pamunkey Tribe. Activists and some political leaders have tried for years to remove them. The historic mass uprisings throughout Virginia against police brutality and racial injustice might make you think almost everyone supports the removal of the state’s Confederate monuments. A large number of Confederate memorials were constructed in the 1920s, at a time when Civil War veterans, who had long been respected in Southern society, were dying of old age. But given that Jim Crow laws, which attempted to disenfranchise black Americans, were being enacted in the South around this time, the statues also had a more sinister meaning. The reality is that they were erected to support a cause, but not that cause you may think. Similarly, after a 32-year-old woman was killed by white supremacists as they rallied over the removal of a Confederate statue in Charleston this weekend, hundreds of similar monuments that are an homage to white supremacy still exist across the country. Laws have certainly changed since then, but racial discrimination still very much exists in the country, which is why these Confederate monuments and symbols are still so controversial. After statues around the world were defaced as part of the Black Lives Matters protests, Kelly Grovier looks at why some monuments provoke powerful reactions. So, in essence, when you remove a Confederate statue monument or headstone, you are in fact, removing a statue monument or headstone of a U.S. "The fact that they were placed on the grounds of county and state courthouses was intentional. June 11, 2020 2:41 pm EDT. “It’s been a long time coming. When were Confederate statues built and why? Most of the Confederate monuments in the United States were commissioned and erected during times of racial strife, or by organizations that championed white supremacy. In addition to monuments to the Union and Confederate honorees, the … Social Justice These arguments are uniquely ironic, considering the Confederate generals themselves chose to secede from America, an act of treason, and fight a bloody war to keep enslaving Black people. Rashid: Why Would You Let Someone Steal Your Money Every Year? Gov. As the nation underwent even more significant political changes during the 1960s and 1970s, hundreds of new Confederate monuments, statues and symbols were erected. While many statues have been up for years, … Days after Northam's announcement, a self-admitted Ku Klux Klan leader and alleged Confederate ideologist rammed his pick-up truck into a crowd of Black Lives Matter demonstrators protesting near the statue on Sunday. Because other motorists had previously hit the monument, the UDC, which had funded and erected the monument in 1910, decided the sculpture would be safer if it was moved to a nearby cemetery. … We’ve tried marches, petitions, protests, going to city council” to get the Confederate monuments removed, said Phil Wilayto, a longtime community organizer and activist with the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality. Jim Crow laws legalized segregation in many states, and essentially made it completely OK for white citizens to discriminate or enact violence against black citizens. Virginia, once the capital of the Confederacy, has more than 200 statues honoring the side that lost the Civil War. Meghan was also a reporter at National Journal, and her work has been featured on CSPAN, MSNBC, NPR, New York Times, and Washington Post. ONLY a cynical person would reach any other conclusions as to why Confederate Statues Monuments and Markers were erected. The monuments go up … Many southerners claim Confederate monuments are a representation of their history and were erected to honor Civil War heroes. Virginia, once the capital of the Confederacy, has more than 200 statues honoring the side that lost the Civil War. For example, one poster in the “Monument Avenue Preservation Group” on Facebook put it this way: “Welcome to Soviet Russia, destroy the past and re-write the narrative. When Confederate statues were erected throughout history. There's been a lot of discussion lately about whether Confederate monuments and memorials should remain in public spaces. The message: white men are in charge.". All rights reserved. But it was the mass protests over the police killing of 46-year-old George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis, that sped action along. While some may argue that the monuments are an important way to preserve American history, many of the statues that depict Civil War heroes were not erected until decades after the war had already ended. In this moment of reckoning around the country, monuments to confederate heroes have also tumbled or been targets of vandalism, most of which were erected decades after the Civil War. While those innocent individuals were being mourned, Confederate flags, symbols of slavery and oppression, were still being flown at the South Carolina statehouse. Meghan McCarthy They also did not go up during Reconstruction (1865-1877), a period during which the federal government, with greater or lesser success and enthusiasm, tried to make good on the emancipatory vision of Union victory (that without ending slavery and protecting the rights of African Americans, the war would have been fought in vain). “More than anything, I think we are dealing with questions of historical memory here,” Dickinson said. As Prof. Michael Dickinson, an expert in African American history at Virginia Commonwealth University, explained, there were “two primary motivations” for the people who put up Confederate statues on Monument Avenue in Richmond. The removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia, sparked a deadly protest, but the Confederate general opposed them. Xzavier Hill Was Unarmed, Family Says. “And it took what is in effect a mass uprising of the community to say these things are not acceptable.”. Commentary Here's What You Need to Know. Who raised the majority of the Confederate Monuments and Statues? “This false narrative romanticized the war by glorifying Confederate leaders and Southern motivations. The COVID-19 Vaccine is Available in Virginia. Meghan McCarthy, Originally Published In this moment of reckoning around the country, monuments to confederate heroes have also tumbled or been targets of vandalism, most of which were erected decades after the Civil War. Big statues in prominent public spaces erected to make a point about the supposed glories of the Confederacy should be transferred elsewhere (ideally to museums or battlefields). "Why would you put a … Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said he would introduce an ordinance to remove the other Confederate statues from the avenue. “These statues were erected, in essence, as a reminder to the community that Southern order and Southern culture depended upon white supremacy,” Grossman says. When were Confederate statues built and why? Statues of Confederate heroes were not erected immediately after the war. The statue was commissioned in 1917 and erected in Charlottesville in 1924 Credit: AP:Associated Press. Ralph Northam announced last week that he would be removing the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert Lee, which sits on Monument Avenue in Richmond. Here's What You Need to Know. Most notably, this ‘Lost Cause’ vision claimed that preserving states’ rights and preserving Southern culture were the central aims of the Confederacy, when in actuality preserving slavery and white supremacy were its main goals.”, The second motivation, Dickinson said, was “an effort to reassert white supremacy after Reconstruction—physical reminders for the black population who was in control.”. No one puts a monument up to Washington or Jefferson to promote slavery. All the news you need — right in your inbox, Virginia Sees Immediate Impact From Some of Biden's Executive Orders, Panel Vote Puts Pfizer COVID Vaccine Before FDA for Final Approval, Republicans Have Been Packing the Courts Since Trump Took Office, Xzavier Hill Was Unarmed, Family Says. … After the "Unite the Right" rally, which was started in opposition of the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue, turned violent in Charlottesville, other officials across the country began removing statues in their own cities. Chris Canipe, Haley Britzky. Harder for the record, the last Confederate veteran died in the first place move came earlier year! Black church and then. ” example, in June 2015, a white supremacist shot and nine... ' `` Forever in Mourning '' Chart of Union and Confederate monuments Vaccine is Available in.. And she helped found Dogwood for the record, the last Confederate veteran died in the first place Tragedy.... 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