Architectural Digest Explores "What Should Happen to Confederate Statues in the U.S."
As part of a renewed national conversation in June 2020 about what to do with Confederate monuments, Laura Itzkowitz of Architectural Digest weighed in with this June 24 article calling for America to "reexamine the monuments that purport to tell our country’s history."
She quotes Paul Edmondson, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation: “Although some Confederate monuments were erected soon after the Civil War for reasons of memorialization, many were erected in subsequent years to serve to promote a Lost Cause mythology and to advance the ideals of white supremacy. Many of those monuments still stand but as symbols of those ideologies, and some of them have served as rallying points for bigotry and hate today.”
She also shares thoughts from Brent Leggs, executive director of the National Trust's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, on how we might move forward: "Through meaningful dialogue, history, and the arts, our nation should explore how best to communicate the often-overlooked contributions and examples of Black excellence and activism to demonstrate our collective and contemporary values in public spaces. We should use this moment to create a more inclusive American landscape and public space that fills gaps in this nation’s civic identity."
Read the full article to learn more about the complex and difficult history behind Confederate monuments.