Posted on Aug 11, 2022
The Confederate statue that sparked Unite the Right came down — but its future remains contested
342
9
5
4
4
0
The 26-foot bronze statue was dedicated in 1924 at a Confederate heritage event, where Lee was declared a "stainless leader of a stainless cause."
By this point, the so-called lost cause propaganda — a narrative that casts the Confederacy’s racist mission in a positive light — had taken hold across the South.
During the Civil War, 52% of the local population around Charlottesville was enslaved, says Jalane Schmidt, a professor at the University of Virginia who took part in the effort to remove the statue.
After the Civil War, Virginia passed a new constitution giving Black men the right to vote. Then 30 years later, white lawmakers reversed course by instituting poll taxes and literacy rules to disenfranchise most Black voters.
“Some of the former Confederates and certainly Confederate descendants and sympathizers called the Reconstruction-era constitution the ‘N-word Constitution,’” Schmidt says. “And we're getting rid of the N-word Constitution and negro rule, and now we're finally reasserting Virginia values.”
The first wave of Confederate statues to promote this idea went up in cemeteries but soon bled into public spaces. The first Confederate statue erected in downtown Charlottesville was installed in 1909 in front of the courthouse, Schmidt says.
By this point, the so-called lost cause propaganda — a narrative that casts the Confederacy’s racist mission in a positive light — had taken hold across the South.
During the Civil War, 52% of the local population around Charlottesville was enslaved, says Jalane Schmidt, a professor at the University of Virginia who took part in the effort to remove the statue.
After the Civil War, Virginia passed a new constitution giving Black men the right to vote. Then 30 years later, white lawmakers reversed course by instituting poll taxes and literacy rules to disenfranchise most Black voters.
“Some of the former Confederates and certainly Confederate descendants and sympathizers called the Reconstruction-era constitution the ‘N-word Constitution,’” Schmidt says. “And we're getting rid of the N-word Constitution and negro rule, and now we're finally reasserting Virginia values.”
The first wave of Confederate statues to promote this idea went up in cemeteries but soon bled into public spaces. The first Confederate statue erected in downtown Charlottesville was installed in 1909 in front of the courthouse, Schmidt says.
The Confederate statue that sparked Unite the Right came down — but its future remains contested
Posted from wbur.org
Civil War
Charlottesville
American History
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 3
3
3
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."“When I realized these statues were put up, particularly in efforts to still minimize Blacks, it was done by the Daughters of the Confederacy, it definitely changed my opinion on all that,” Semerling says.
Monty Pearison, who is also white, lives and works outside of Charlottesville. He says the statue should have stayed and wants debate over it to end.
“I wish it would go away, to be honest with you,” Pearison says. “The more we bring it up, the more it steams other people. And so I do blame the media in some ways that they keep bringing it up.”
But for many residents, the physical presence of the statues in their community consistently reopen long-held wounds. Only their removal spurs healing.
“It still has an effect on me,” resident Shon Parker says. “But not physically seeing the remnants of it kind of eases the blow a little bit.”
..."“When I realized these statues were put up, particularly in efforts to still minimize Blacks, it was done by the Daughters of the Confederacy, it definitely changed my opinion on all that,” Semerling says.
Monty Pearison, who is also white, lives and works outside of Charlottesville. He says the statue should have stayed and wants debate over it to end.
“I wish it would go away, to be honest with you,” Pearison says. “The more we bring it up, the more it steams other people. And so I do blame the media in some ways that they keep bringing it up.”
But for many residents, the physical presence of the statues in their community consistently reopen long-held wounds. Only their removal spurs healing.
“It still has an effect on me,” resident Shon Parker says. “But not physically seeing the remnants of it kind of eases the blow a little bit.”
(3)
(0)
1
1
0
I'm not offended by the Confederates...because they weren't the ones fighting for their indentured servants (which is what Lee had just like Lincoln).
I'm annoyed that a bunch of dixiecratic slave owners referred to as rebels fought the union soldiers AND the confederates.
People misrepresent him and the Union army for the reasons why they didn't like him(because of his changed stance on the right to secede from the union and had to go through the Virginia's (the only two states the confederacy resided in) in order to go down South and finish "forming a more perfect union".
If it was really about slavery, I am sure they could have had Eli Whitney create more than a prototype cotton gin to drive down overhead costs and appeal more to the southern slave owners.
Almost every problem presented to us can be solved by not allowing the institutions that create or allow the problems to develope intentionally, offer a solution that grants them more economic and civil authority.
That is reserved to we the people.
I'm annoyed that a bunch of dixiecratic slave owners referred to as rebels fought the union soldiers AND the confederates.
People misrepresent him and the Union army for the reasons why they didn't like him(because of his changed stance on the right to secede from the union and had to go through the Virginia's (the only two states the confederacy resided in) in order to go down South and finish "forming a more perfect union".
If it was really about slavery, I am sure they could have had Eli Whitney create more than a prototype cotton gin to drive down overhead costs and appeal more to the southern slave owners.
Almost every problem presented to us can be solved by not allowing the institutions that create or allow the problems to develope intentionally, offer a solution that grants them more economic and civil authority.
That is reserved to we the people.
(1)
(0)
1
1
0
Bill Clinton Said 'Make America Great Again' In 1991 | NowThis
Bill Clinton Said 'Make America Great Again' In 1991 » Subscribe to NowThis: http://go.nowth.is/News_SubscribeWatch more from NowThis» Like us on Facebook: h...
Much ado about nothing. I am not offended about the Confederates. They were forgiven by presential pardon in 1867. I live in Canada and the Canadians made sure their Constitution had no loose ends that would cause a future civil war.
I am still gonna refer to the military bases as their old names.
I went to like Fort McClellan for basic training and Fort Bragg for my Civil Affairs Qualification Course and later deployed to Afghanistan. What is strange is the new base names sound like the former Forward Operating Bases. Those that want to get rid of statues are Virtue signaling and destroying our country at the same time.
If you want to talk about Justice, arrest the people harassing the Supreme Court Justices In front of their homes.
Let's make America great again and stop arguing about stupid stuff like Civil War Statues. We had cancel culture in 1917 Russia, during the French Revolution in the early 1800s and we had cancel culture in Nazi Germany.
https://youtube.com/shorts/voMW-P9bU8I?feature=share
I am still gonna refer to the military bases as their old names.
I went to like Fort McClellan for basic training and Fort Bragg for my Civil Affairs Qualification Course and later deployed to Afghanistan. What is strange is the new base names sound like the former Forward Operating Bases. Those that want to get rid of statues are Virtue signaling and destroying our country at the same time.
If you want to talk about Justice, arrest the people harassing the Supreme Court Justices In front of their homes.
Let's make America great again and stop arguing about stupid stuff like Civil War Statues. We had cancel culture in 1917 Russia, during the French Revolution in the early 1800s and we had cancel culture in Nazi Germany.
https://youtube.com/shorts/voMW-P9bU8I?feature=share
(1)
(0)
PO1 John Johnson
And their descendants have fought side-by-side with the rest of the American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines ever since, so it's past time the non-Southern Left-wing RPer's on here quit calling them Traitors, Rednecks, Hillbillies, etc., and get the f- off their backs.
(0)
(0)
Deborah Gregson
Fort Bragg will always be Fort Bragg to those of us in NC. We won in keeping the name Charlotte Motor Speedway and shall win in keeping the name Fort Bragg (a transplanted California Girl with sense).
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google