History teacher says it’s time to remove Civil War statues

It is time come to remove Civil War statues. As a history teacher in Pennsylvania I annually took students to Gettysburg to “feel” history. The Confederate flag on my charm bracelet recognizing my respect for Robert E. Lee, the man, was quite a conversation piece later teaching history in Florida.

Lee was a man of integrity and honor to the point that when Lincoln offered him command of the U.S. Army, Lee could not take up arms against his beloved state of Virginia. He personified character and duty throughout his life.

Fast forward 150+ years. We have experienced Reconstruction, Jim Crow laws, the KKK and the Civil Rights movement, yet symbols of the Civil War remain as statues/monuments. To a majority of multi-generation, white Southerners, these represent their ancestors and heritage rather than symbols of slavery. To some whites, in the South and throughout the country, they represent white supremacy. To blacks they symbolize slavery.

Because history has not yet demonstrated that “all men are created equal,” it is time to remove symbols of inequality. It may be offensive to white Southerners to remove representations of their history. It is even more offensive to blacks to have them remain. Any representations of inequality cannot be tolerated in 21st century America. Statutes to Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and founder of the KKK, should have been removed years ago. It is now time to remove those of men such as Robert E. Lee.

When having a conversation with another history teacher, we recognized that no nation who has won a war has monuments to those who were defeated — other than on battlefields. The CSA proclaimed themselves an independent nation fighting against the U.S. Perhaps on that neutral ground we can agree to remove statues and monuments from public spaces.

This story was originally published August 21, 2017 at 3:41 PM with the headline "History teacher says it’s time to remove Civil War statues."