“Blood and Soil,” and “White Lives Matter,” just two small examples of the bigotry spewed by White Supremacists and Neo Nazis as they protested the removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville. Over the course of those several days in August 2017, an egregious amount of violence ensued coming to a head when a Neo Nazi drove his car into a counter protest injuring many and killing one. From all over the city citizens reported mobs of armed men and women swarming through the streets clashing with each other. The police did their best to quell the violence by breaking up the main protest in the park but as soon as the hundreds of protestors got to the side streets they found no other officers attempting to clear them out. So, they stayed, and they protested, and eventually they bumped into the opposing side. Armed with sticks and shields many Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists charged at the counter protestors beating them, especially many of the black counter protestors (New York Post). 

Looking at this violent and terrible protest, a clear trend emerges. Those who want to keep the hundreds of Confederate statues do not want to keep them for remembrance of “The Lost Cause,” but instead want to keep them to remember their lost cause: The preservation of Racism and white supremacy in the United States. With each of these protests after Charlottesville a growing nonviolent counter protest grew outnumbering protestors three to one at some points. This is a clear message to local, state, and the federal government that many Americans want these statues gone. So now they must decide exactly what to do about the many statues; Do they simply destroy them, do they take them down and put them in a museum? Either way they cannot be allowed to remain on public property as they will only continue to both remind the black community that they were once and could be again second-class citizens and serve as a rally point for white nationalists, such as the KKK, to remember their “former glory.” The Government should not only remove the Confederate statues but destroy them; otherwise, they will continue to propagate racism, bigotry, and violence across the United States.

Over the course of the 20th century hundreds of monuments to the Confederacy were erected. While they weren’t directly built by white nationalists, they were built their supporters, mainly the United Daughters of the Confederacy. From Schools to Roads to the Many statues across the United States the majority were sponsored by the UDC. With such strong ties to the KKK the UDC has found it hard to defend its monuments. In the case of Vanderbilt University vs, The UDC the UDC received some compensation as Vanderbilt changed the name of one of its dorms from Confederate Memorial Hall to Memorial Hall. This is great for a building but for the statues and monuments a simple name change or alteration is not enough to remove the racist ties. These Statues need to be fully removed in-order to have the same effect. This was the same case for the Jefferson Davis Highway (Hague). The highway was not and never has been officially named the Jefferson Davis Highway, but was unofficially named this by the UDC. One Mayor in the state of Washington challenged the UDC over a marker for the JDH in his town. Eventually, he won, and the plaque was removed due to its racial ties. It is these small actions taken by local governments that are needed to remove all the racist and suppressive monuments across the United States. 

The issue of the Confederate statues across the United States is not necessarily going to be solved by some sweeping legislation from Congress or ruling by the Supreme Court. It will be small town municipalities and Universities that will do most of the work. They will be fighting court battles with groups like the UDC over these statues to get them removed. They will be dealing with protested by White Supremacists and Nazis, and it will be their towns people and students that counter protest to show that these bigoted ideas and statues have no place in their town or University and need to be removed, for it is the local people who feel the hate of these statues on a daily basis. Their minority communities who feel the direct impact of these symbols of oppression. Every US citizen should join the fight in support of these small towns, but only these small towns can get the job done.

Some would argue that by removing and destroying these statues we risk destroying the history of the United States. Fine argues that if we let the dominate political ideology determine which history to remember and which to destroy that we risk bleaching history of some of its most important lesson such as in this case don’t be racist. He states that our most important history is the dark and ugly and scaring and that these statues symbolize that dark past and need to be remembered(Fine). These same sentiments are echoed by Mallock who also wants these statues to be preserved either as they are or in a museum. What Fine and Mallock fail to recognize the how active these “historical scars” are. They aren’t even historical scars at the moment as the bigots whose fathers put these statues up expressed their support for these statues and their cause in Charlottesville when One of them drove a car into a counter protest killing a woman. Yes, remembering history is important but making everyone who lives in the United States feel welcome is more important. When you have monuments that remind them every day that they should be less than and aren’t welcome that is not a feasible ask to forget the racism around these statues. If this racism had only been in the past then yes, these statues should be kept or put in a museum to remember our scars, but the United States is not at that point.

Looking back at other historical examples of bigotry and hate we do not see any sort of reembrace. In Germany there aren’t any statues of Hitler or his Generals; there aren’t any Nazi flags flying over Government buildings, and there aren’t any monuments that support anti-Semitism; why should the United States be so different? Germany hasn’t had a major problem quelling anti-Semites since the end of World War two. Meanwhile, in the United States, there has been a problem with racism ever since the end of the civil war. In fact, the problem only got worse after reconstruction. Most of these statues were put up between 1890 and 1920. Most of the other statues were then put up during the 1960s and 1970s during the height of the Civil Rights movement (Cox). There was no sudden urge to better remember Confederate Generals in the 1960s and 1970s; there was no sudden feeling of “Southern Pride.” No, these statues were put up to fight the idea of civil rights by showing minorities they weren’t welcome in their own communities. How can anyone argue anything besides the fact that these states are rooted in racism. When these statues are threatened the only people, who come to their defense are white supremacists. If this country wants to fight racism it needs to remove and destroy these symbols of hate.

If as a people, the citizens of the United States allow the tyranny of evil men and their hideous and bigoted ideas remain a prevailing force then many people in this nation will never feel at home or welcome. Without a major change they will continue to feel this way within their own nation, and as a nation it is the duty of every citizen to pressure their local, state and federal officials to remove all symbols of hate from publicly funded land. Tax payer money cannot and should not be used to propagate hate and bigotry it is unconstitutional and ethically wrong. Racism is a large issue in the United States and not something that will be cured overnight, nor should it be attempted to cure overnight. By taking down these monuments to hate, violence, and suppression, The United States will be one step closer to ending racism as those who hold racist and bigoted ideas, will lose their rallying points and symbols of oppression. While they lose their symbols of hate, the rest of this great nation will be becoming better connected and united and overall, better able to fight bigotry wherever it may exist.

The government should take serious measures to remove and destroy and confederate symbols of hate from public land so that the persistence of racism can be fought and beaten. Racism isn’t a new problem in the United States. It was something that started long before the United States existed. It started in the colonies with the slave trade and Indian wars and only grew larger and more prominent after the break from England. With such a systemic problem it will take years to cure it and make the United States a place wherein all men are created equal. By removing and destroying these symbols of hate this goal becomes closer and within the grasp of the American people. Without this necessary and pertinent measure, the battle against racism will remain a losing one and many in this country will never feel welcome. America at its core is a nation of immigrants, some by choice and others by force, either way they are immigrants of some generation. This is the most important value of the United States and why, so many see America as the dream, a place to start a new. How many people will continue to think this way when they see Americans put on white hoods and attack minorities.
