Why the statues matter so much

Why the statues matter so much

I’m sorry I haven’t blogged for a while. I’m all torn up. Maybe you are, too.

I live in Richmond, Virginia. My quiet city is now completely upside-down. The issues here are quite complicated.

We aren’t just a charming old city in the South. Don’t get me wrong, Richmond is a beautiful place, a historical and picturesque city with cobblestone streets and a Jefferson-designed capitol. Beautiful brick houses. Battlefields and museums and outside eating. And some statues that matter to a lot of people.

Those dang statues really matter a lot, for a lot of different reasons.

These days, I’m seeing a less-lovely side of Richmond. It’s always been here. I just didn’t want to see it.

I’m a Northern transplant who lives in a Mid-Atlantic state (technically, a commonwealth). I’ve always liked this area because Richmond is not too cold or rushed, yet it’s not too Southern and slow. And it’s full of history, which I love.

I always thought the Confederate-mentality here in Virginia was quaint and colloquial, albeit overkill. (I mean, the Civil War was 160 years ago, and the Confederacy lost. So what’s with all the statues and flags and Daughters of the Confederacy stuff?) I should’ve realized that Southern perspective is about more than sweet tea and drawl.

The side that I thought was quaint and colloquial has a lot of white privilege masked as something more palatable, like loyalty or national pride. Except that the South is not a nation. This is an observation, not a censure. That’s why we love driving by the brick Gerogian mansions and having tea at the Jefferson Hotel. Southern charm is irresistible. I absolutely love Virginia and Richmond. But I understand that people are flawed and hurting, no matter what their color; and real history doesn’t lie.

I’m also white, and I live in the suburbs where there are a lot of grocery stores and big trees. And in my basement is a rough camp-style bathroom stall that was built in the 1950’s for the hired Black maid. I didn’t realize what this extra bathroom actually was until a real Southerner pointed it out to me. I’m still not sure what to do with it. I feel a kind of grief whenever I use it. I have a piece of our sordid history standing right here in my own house.

The current debate over our monuments of Confederate generals and president has been going hot for more than a century. (You can read about it here.) Can I just say–these guys weren’t American folk heroes. They started a war to preserve the enslavement of an entire race of people (an anti-American idea). To preserve their wealth (a very American idea). That’s why there’s so much anger. The protests on both sides are not about the statues themselves, but about what they represent–freedom to pursue life, liberty, and happiness for white people.

Our monuments of Confederate heroes were put into place to remind everyone in Richmond who and what should be revered. The statues were raised successively, in direct reaction to various civil liberties for Black Americans. They are reflections of a post-war revolution, an insidious method to remind people of color. Of the Southern pecking order.

The statues on the monuments celebrate the leaders of a revolution against the United States of America–a crime of treason for which these men were not prosecuted. Even the case of the Confederate president Jefferson Davis never went to trial. These leaders were educated gentlemen, who had prospered from a free slave labor force.

And for all of us who say, “But America revolted against Great Britain, and we celebrate that!” Yes, we did. We revolted from tyranny across an ocean, against a government that refused to recognize us as equals or give us a vote in Parliament. We didn’t kill our cousins and brothers who lived across the Potomac and the Ohio Rivers. Also, our founding fathers were prepared to hang for treason if they were caught or if they lost. So the situations are not exactly the same.

Richmond has a complicated history of race and slavery, as the second-largest slave trade city in America. Yet nothing in this Confederate capitol shows any remorse or regret for our racial problems or for these heroes who plunged our country into a war that cost more lives than all other American wars combined—over 620,000 deaths. There’s no admission of guilt here. No responsibility. No cautionary tale besides a few slave markers. Instead, several monuments stand proudly—even arrogantly—as if these men were victors of a noble and spiritual endeavor from which everyone has benefitted.

The statues matter because we haven’t learned from our history, which in my opinion is the point of monuments. They are supposed to honor true heroes or warn us of our misdeeds. So many of Richmond’s monuments do the opposite.

Over the two decades that we’ve lived here, I’ve shown our statues to nearly everyone who’s come to visit us in Richmond.

“Let’s drive down Monument Avenue and see the statues,” I’d say. “It’s beautiful. And it’s as Richmond as you can get.”

Yes, it is. And maybe that’s part of our problem.

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    The Conversation

  1. JUAN C DEL VALLE says:

    I see where you’re coming from in your article. I have a question. Should we get rid of the constitution of the Unites States? Should we reject it because who wrote it. Also, as a white woman, do you feel responsable for the sins of your ancestors? If so, would you be willing to pay reparations to those who are descendant of slaves? These are sincere questions.

    • Sue Schlesman says:

      Hello, Juan. Thank you for your questions. I’ll do my best to answer succinctly. 1) My article didn’t give an opinion about whether the Confederate monuments should come down or not. My point was that these particular monuments are offensive and traumatic for many Black people because they represent people who intended to keep the South enslaved and the monuments were raised in direct opposition to Civil Rights initiative. They were the middle finger to the Black communities all across the South. They are not American heroes–they were American traitors and Southern heroes. 2) I don’t see the parallel between taking down a Confederate monument and destroying the Constitution. One is a memorial to an evil social system, while the other is our rule of law. We cannot throw out laws because the person who wrote them was imperfect or even a slave-holder if the work produced guarantees freedom and provides a way to amend or correct something that’s unfair or unreasonable over time. Now about that– 3) the Constitution did not originally give women, children, Native Americans, or Black people the same freedoms as white men. In fact, even poor white men could not vote initially, only the landowners. The Constitution reflected the need to establish a new type of government (democracy), which had never been done before in the history of the world, and it reflected the prevailing beliefs of the 1780s, which did not treat people equally; in fact, it reflected the supremacy of the white man with wealth, if we’re going to be completely honest. The original Constitution and Bill of Rights was just our starting point as a nation. We should be improving it. It needed many additional laws (called Amendments) after that time to give more specific rules and freedoms to all Americans. The Constitution still isn’t perfect or completely fair, but we still don’t throw it out or disregard it. We try to improve it. Part of the genius of this document is that it allows for amendments and changes. In a sense, it’s like a living thing. It is not a monument or a piece of folklore. 4) No, I am not responsible for my ancestors’ actions. However, we all bear the beliefs our ancestors passed down to us through culture and perspective. I’m responsible to reconsider my perspective all the time–I should be considering new information, re-reading history, and re-applying Bible truths accordingly. It’s foolish for anyone to think they understand everything about a topic–especially one as complex as racism and discrimination. We should all be re-assessing our perspectives. I am responsible for speaking truth even when it’s uncomfortable or unpopular. Americans–and the American church as a whole–has done a poor job talking about racism and advocating for equity for everyone. Christians made race and poverty into political issues rather than brotherly love issues. I am responsible to God to treat people how he wants me to treat him. 5) I would be willing to participate in reparations. I think paying money to people would be difficult to assess and would in no way make up for the persecution they have suffered. I think the best reparations are a changed society–one where people color receive the same treatment by police, judges, lawyers, juries, teachers, employers, etc. I think we must uproot systematic racism everywhere it exits. If we can figure out a way to determine who gets money and how much, I’m fine with that. I just think what people really want and need is equality and equity.

  2. KristiSaunders says:

    Lovely piece. Thanks for sharing @Maura Brigham.
    Both my husband and I have family members who want to see the statues stay. None of them live here and feel this. I’m sharing your piece in hopes one of them might read itcv

    • Sue Schlesman says:

      Kristi, thank you for writing. It’s hard to understand if you don’t know the background. The links imbedded in the article are very insightful and informative, also. I appreciate you sharing this. Best wishes!

  3. NFalbo says:

    You’re trying to erase history. History is part of who we are. It also helps teach us who not to be. These people who are rioting, looting, defacing public property after all these years are not looking to change the future, but to ruminate and belabor the past. Hearts need to change, not artifacts. How does that any of that change anything? You nor I can change a heart. Only God can do that. Tearing down or destroying property to make a change is ludicrous. Not because of the physical loss of property, but because it perpetuates the very essence of what the Black community says it is against…violence and perpetuation of hate. We are called to love one another as Christ loves us. You cannot legislate love. Only Holy Spirit within us can change us. Slavery was and still is horrific not matter who it is perpetrated against. That being said, we cannot legislate or tear down or deface enough statues or flags or any other material things to change the heart of racists, be they white or black. There is as much black prejudice against white people as there is white against black. How does any of this change that? How does any of this change a heart? By using violence and robbing and looting against people who themselves, never had part in slavery, how does that heal a wound? How does violence against anyone black or white, heal a wound? Only Jesus can heal a wound, especially one as deep as racism. What is happening now is a revival of the civil war. It’s not helping racism, it’s not bridging the divide, it’s creating a wider chasm than ever. Until Jesus sets up His rule on the New Earth, there will be racism, class divide, and injustices and atrocities of all kinds. What is our part as self professing Christians? Do we support, or even worse, join in the mayhem? Do we shut ourselves out from the world and pretend it didn’t happen or isn’t happening? Do we shut our eyes and hope it goes away? No, no we don’t. We pray. We reach out to our neighbor. We ask God to change our hearts toward those who are not like us in color or culture. We seek His softening of our hearts towards the plights of others, no matter color or ethnicity. We pray for all those both black and white, who think hate, violence, anger and destruction are the answer and whose hearts are empty of Jesus. Not one single one of us can change history no matter how many statues or flags or remnants of that history we tear down. It helps absolutely nothing. In fact, anger is rising in America on both sides. Yes, racial prejudice is alive in America today. Prejudice is alive all over the world today. It is not right. It is sinful. It is painful. It, however can not be erased by what is happening today, not in the way it’s being handled. Not hotheadedly, violently, destructively with unbridled hate-tinged emotion. So much hate is being perpetuated now on both ‘sides’ now. Satan is having his way in all of this. No person on this earth, including you or me, can post or blog peace into existence. Only Jesus is peace. Only God can win this war, and He has promised its already been won. Unfortunately, less and less people are turning Jesus in this world. The world, not just America has rejected Him and pushed Him out of everything. Even those who claim to know Him, have their own version of who He is and what His Word means. There is no hope without God through Jesus Christ. There is no peace within the hearts of men without Jesus. There is no forgiveness, Godliness, heart change, or erasing of prejudice without Jesus. Until every knee bows and every tongue confesses Jesus is Lord, the decline of man will continue because God is being denied and pushed out of the hearts of mankind. These days we are in are leading us Home and serve to do just that. Anymore than tearing down artifacts or trying our best to erase history, we cannot stop the future God has planned for this world. We need to pray and trust God like never before. Jesus is the answer for the world today. Above Him, there no other. Jesus is the Way.

    • Sue Schlesman says:

      I’m not trying to erase history or anything else. I’m explaining history. I love and value history. It is the greatest teaching lesson. We bear the effects of history everywhere. If you’ll notice, I have not advocated tearing down or leaving up in this article. Let’s tell the history of the South in a museum. Let’s not use symbols of hate and oppression–things that cause an entire race of people trauma and heartache–to tell our story or theirs. Kindness and peace would dictate otherwise. Your perspective about Jesus and America has nothing to do with my piece on statues, by the way, but thanks for sharing your opinion. I agree that Jesus is the answer. The statues–and American politics or history–are not.

  4. Maura C Brigham says:

    Thank you, Sue. Love this!

    • Sue Schlesman says:

      Maura, thank you for commenting. What unusual times we live in.

    • Sparrow says:

      Hello,

      Well written!
      I am an american negro.
      I like your sense of civility.

      S

      • Sue Schlesman says:

        Sparrow, thank you for commenting. I am so thankful you felt respected through this. I am grieved for the bigotry that has come in our world out under the guise of Southern culture. God bless you!

        • Sparrow says:

          Thank you for your strength and courage to help make our world a better place for humanity’s sake.
          May God continue to bless you with the gift to inspire others to hope for a better world where there is love, peace.
          s.

      • Sue Schlesman says:

        Thank you for your kind response. I celebrate you! Have a blessed day!