Put Your Monument Where Your Mouth Is

Across the nation, protestors are taking down monuments of confederate leaders and racist icons such as Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and Christopher Columbus. But what does it mean to remove the physical memory of people who helped shape this country?

I had never thought about this question until I moved to Savannah, GA in the fall of 2015. On my way to class every day, I would pass a massive monument in Forsyth Park commemorating confederate leaders. Though some people used the shadow it cast as relief from the hot Georgian sun, the shade was clearly provided by the promotion and support of the ideologies of the confederacy.

Many of these types of monuments were erected during the Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras, not directly after the Civil War. Monuments arose in public, visible places including parks, cemeteries, and courthouses as a way to remind black people of the presence of white supremacy, especially in the South. The choice of a monument forces people to look up to the ideologies of a person towering over them, rather than erect memorials to remember those who have passed. The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) was an organization of white women who was responsible for many of these monuments. They believed that when you promote symbols and figures associated with racist ideologies, those exposed are more likely to support institutionalized social injustice.

Though there’s been no direct study of the effect of monuments, in 2011, researchers wanted to see if exposure to the confederate flag would affect a person’s perception of black people. Specifically, they were exploring its effect on students’ willingness to vote for Barack Obama. The study concluded that the symbol “increased ‘the accessibility of culturally associated prejudice’” among white students. A similar study from Cambridge in 2017 also concluded that Southern symbols promoted racial prejudice.

By removing these reminders of our racist past, a physical and mental space provides itself for individual and systematic growth.

This isn’t the first time people have tried to have these monuments removed. In 2017, there were protests and forceful removals of the monuments across the country. However, many laws were enacted during that year deeming the removal or relocation of these monuments illegal. This not only gave law enforcement another excuse to incarcerate black people, but it also hiked up the prices for these monument’s relocation. An estimated $700,000 would be needed to remove just two confederate statues in Charlottesville, VA. Though the cost varies from state to state, removal costs are higher in more conservative states where there are more of these monuments.

In addition to the laws, President Trump defended the protection of these monuments, claiming that the history of the country was being “ripped apart”. We all know this isn’t the first time those who have promised to serve and protect the people have failed us, and it is very clear that it’s not a statue of George Washington that is tearing the country apart.

In this year of unrest and growth, we are seeing everyday who is choosing to learn and grow with new information and who chooses to remain ignorant. President Trump continues to defend these racist monuments while hundreds of thousands of people risk their lives every day for justice and equality. Protestors are actually granting local governments a favor by removing these monuments for free. Rather than driving by a statue of Robert E Lee in Richmond, the empty space left behind will remind people of those who fought for social justice.

So may the heads of our racist ancestor’s roll, and may the voices of those who fought for true social justice rise in their place.