Monday morning before dawn, workers began the relocation of New Orleans’ Battle of Liberty Place monument. Elected officials, on a 6-1 decision, decided to relocate four monuments to “a museum or other facility where they can be put in context,” according to Mayor Mitch Landrieu. The Battle of Liberty Place monument was the first of four to be taken down and perhaps the most blatantly offensive.
The monument, which until ver
y recently, honored the Crescent White League for recognition of “white supremacy in the south,” celebrates attacks in 1891 on the city’s racially integrated police force. It was later used as a rallying point for David Duke and the Klu Klux Klan. The three other statues that will also be removed are of various Confederate leaders. Almost all of them have recently been subjected to debate and vandalism.
While the removal of these monuments should have been met with unity and celebration, many were very upset about the decision, which was made in December 2015 following the hate killings of nine black worshippers in a church in Charleston, South Carolina. Workers removing the statue wore masks to hide their identities, as many had received threats of violence from those opposing removal. One worker’s car was even set on fire. Although forced to be done in the dark of night, the removal of racist monuments is a step away from a history of racism and towards progress.
“This is about showing the whole world that we as a city and as a people are able to acknowledge, understand, reconcile — and most importantly — choose a better future,” Landrieu said in a statement.
Today, we remember it is okay to take a side in history, and that to remember our past is not to glorify it. We should learn and remember all of history, but we should not honor all of it. Too often, we try to maintain an objective approach to history and in the process, we erase the weight of tragedy and injustice. We learn about our history to learn from our mistakes, and that cannot happen if we do not condemn the evils within our past. Fighting to protect the institution of slavery is wrong. Violently opposing racial integration is wrong. Hate crimes are wrong. These should not be controversial statements.
Bigots masquerading as historians complaining about #NewOrleans removing confederate statues as "erasing history" – interesting
— Dr. Jason Johnson (@DrJasonJohnson) April 25, 2017
It is scary to think we agree evils like slavery and genocide are wrong, but only when we are removed. Hitler was evil. Stalin was evil. The Holocaust was evil. But genocide of Native Americans? Christopher Columbus? The Confederacy? In those cases, we decide, it’s complicated. And when we do not condemn blatant racism and oppression, we alienate people of color and marginalized groups, and we allow racism, both overt and covert, to prosper.
Surely, though, to many white people like myself, these issues feel complicated. So many of us know and love people who are racist, and many of us have family histories full of racism. However, taking a stand against racism and educating those close to us is key to checking our power and beginning a better future.
It is everyone’s responsibility to not only address our histories but condemn the evils within them. So good job, New Orleans.
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