Because of the events of Charlottesville, the issue of taking down statues of Confederate heroes is back in the news and on the internet. One group took matters into their own hands and pulled one over. Defenders of the status quo, including the President, wondered if we would soon be taking down monuments to the likes of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Today I saw, but did not read, a story that said someone has proposed renaming Boston's Faneuil Hall. That's silly, I think. It reminded me of a controversy we had some years ago when a statue was created of George Cleeve, who is credited as the first European to settle in the Portland, Maine area. The statue ended up on private land, because some felt history indicated he may have owned a slave.Here's a good opinion piece that lays out the argument, and, I think, sets out good guidelines for taking down or not taking down statues.Those who claim the statues represent a part of our history that cannot be erased by removing them have a point, I think. However, the Holocaust is part of our history and should be remembered, but not honored. Would anyone argue in favor of Hitler HS or Himmler Blvd? Nathaniel Gordon was a successful sea captain from Portland until he was captured transporting slaves, "the only American to be tried, convicted and executed for trading slaves." We don't have any statues of him. We can remember history without exalting and honoring mistakes. Robert E. Lee was great at what he did, but because of his greatness thousands of Americans died as part of a still-unfinished process of righting a wrong.
So take 'em down, and put 'em in museum or a warehouse.
Or don't.
In June I walked around downtown Birmingham Alabama. There's a beautiful little park there full of statues and memorials. There was a time when the park was segregated, and when the city was ordered to integrate their parks, they closed them instead.
On one edge of the park is a theater that white supremacists tried to bomb, I think during a Sam Cooke concert.
Civil rights demonstrators were assaulted with fire hoses here (side note: some this week argue that the white supremacists in Charlottesville had a permit; they were there legally, while counter protesters were not. First of all, bullshit. Second, I am reminded of a powerful section of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Gathering legally to protest does not confer the right to beat people. Nor does it make your position right).
Anyway, At one entrance to that park is a memorial to citizens of Birmingham who died for the Confederacy. Alabama has a state law prohibiting removing or substantially altering statues, but the mayor of Birmingham has covered a part of the obelisk memorial. So now we will see this grind through the courts for a while.
In another part of the park is a statue of a remarkable female lawyer from Birmingham.
So take 'em down, and put 'em in museum or a warehouse.
Or don't.
In June I walked around downtown Birmingham Alabama. There's a beautiful little park there full of statues and memorials. There was a time when the park was segregated, and when the city was ordered to integrate their parks, they closed them instead.
On one edge of the park is a theater that white supremacists tried to bomb, I think during a Sam Cooke concert.
Civil rights demonstrators were assaulted with fire hoses here (side note: some this week argue that the white supremacists in Charlottesville had a permit; they were there legally, while counter protesters were not. First of all, bullshit. Second, I am reminded of a powerful section of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Gathering legally to protest does not confer the right to beat people. Nor does it make your position right).
Anyway, At one entrance to that park is a memorial to citizens of Birmingham who died for the Confederacy. Alabama has a state law prohibiting removing or substantially altering statues, but the mayor of Birmingham has covered a part of the obelisk memorial. So now we will see this grind through the courts for a while.
In another part of the park is a statue of a remarkable female lawyer from Birmingham.
You should be able to enlarge the photo and read her amazing story. Meanwhile the park is surrounded by history markers memorializing actions by civil rights leaders.
If I were a black person living in or visiting Alabama. I would look at all the other memorials around Linn Park and say "Thank you. Thank you. We are winning. We are still fighting and we are winning." And I would look at that Soldiers and Sailors monument and laugh and say, "What a bunch of losers. You fought and died for a stupid idea that is losing." I'm not black, and I still say that. That obelisk is a memorial to a bunch of dupes and stupid losers. I'm sad for them.
I think we need more statues, not fewer. We ought to be inspired by the Fearless Girl.
I think that obelisk ought to have a statue of Albert Boutwell shaking hands with Fred Shuttlesworth on the street side of it. It should have a memorial to the four girls killed in the church bombing on another side. It should have a statue of President Barack Obama on another side. You should have to thread your way through a maze of celebrations of civil rights achievements to get to it. Linn Park might be a good place for a memorial to some of the best of the Birmingham Black Barons. Nah, there's probably a better place, but let's get those statues made.
I was going to suggest a variation on this historical statue:
To go with every version of something like this:
I'm not creative enough to come up with much more.
But now that I think about it, I'd like to see statues of Langston Hughes, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall, Sonia Sotomayor, Cesar Chavez, Rosalind Franklin, the Hidden Figures women, etc.
More statues, more history, more art.
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