Editorial: Confederate Monuments Endangered?

With racial tensions high in the wake of the Charleston shooting some municipalities, including the city of New Orleans, have elected to remove monuments to confederate Civil War figures. But author and preservationist Robert Lee Hodge wonders if that is the best course of action. While recognizing that the monuments may cause offense and outrage in some, Hodge ponders if this is such a bad thing and concludes that we ought to observe the full account of our history, both the good and the bad.

Key Takeaways:

• Removal of confederate monuments from the city of New Orleans because of shootings in Charleston, South Carolina by Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
• The statues and the sculptures of Confederacy have been on National Register of Historic Places in 1991 and represent a snapshot of the history of American independence.
• Public opinion from different demographies should be considered and the issues of race and discrimination should be brought to the table before removing all the monuments offensive to some people.

“Perhaps these physical reminders of people and ideology are constructive to spark discussion on the hard and uncomfortable issues of race, Jim Crow, etc.”

http://www.historynet.com/editorial-confederate-monuments-endangered.htm