What is the issue with Confederate statues?

The police killing of George Floyd sparked widespread protests and reignited efforts across the U.S. to remove Confederate and other statues viewed as symbols of slavery and racism. In several cities, these tributes have been vandalized or torn down by protestors or removed by public officials.

Why should historical statues be taken down?

The statues represent the country’s history, no matter how complicated. Taking them down is to censor, whitewash, and potentially forget that history.

Why are they removing Confederate statues?

Activists have long called for Confederate flags and symbols to be taken down, but the accelerated removal of statues was fueled by widespread protests against systemic racism and police brutality following Floyd’s death, with more people linking Confederate monuments with white supremacy, according to Erin L.

Why are statues not deleting history?

Removing the statutes reflects a sea change in who we, as a society, honor. In doing this, we are not turning away from history. We are turning away from those people on those pedestals — and what they represent — as models to be admired and fondly remembered.

Why was Christopher Columbus statue taken down?

Chicago’s two Christopher Columbus statues were taken down early Friday morning, nearly one week after protests erupted in the city. According to a statement from the mayor’s office hours after the statues were taken down, the move was actually was done in an effort to “protect public safety.”

What is the main purpose of statues?

Statues can teach us about history, but they do not convey some immutable truth from the past. Instead, they are symbolic of the fixed ideas of a specific community regarding its past, as captured at a particular point in time.

Why we should keep Confederate statues standing?

Further, removing Confederate statues amounts to whitewashing our history, turning our heads away from the inconvenient truths of our past. We should let them stand and use them to remind ourselves of what we are and are not, the cost our forebears paid for our freedom and to educate our children.

Why should the Confederate statues remain?

The most common argument I have heard about why the confederate statues should remain are assertions that their removal equates to erasing history – that’s an inherently insincere and shallow argument. The confederate statues weren’t commissioned to remember history, they were created to distort it.

Why are Confederate statues being removed?

So why are Confederate statues being removed? For many people, especially minorities, these statues are a reminder of a very painful past, and glorify the leaders who fought to preserve slavery and other forms of racial discrimination.

What is the removal of Confederate monuments?

Missouri. United Daughters of the Confederacy Monument on Ward Parkway . The memorial to Confederate women, a 1934 gift by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, was defaced by graffiti on Aug. 18, 2017 and boxed up two days later in preparation for its removal. The monument was removed on August 25, 2017.