Removing Confederate Monuments and Renaming Confederate-Named Military Bases

[lpetrich]

Across South, a push to change Confederate school names - The Washington Post

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Trude Lamb is a standout cross country runner at Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler, Texas, but the name on her jersey is a sharp reminder of a man “who didn’t believe people like me were 100% human.”

The sophomore, originally from Ghana, told the school board this summer that she had seen the horrific conditions of slave dungeons on the African coast and can’t support a name that celebrates a Confederate general who fought on the side of slavery. Along with many other students and alumni, she pushed to change the name this year in a campaign organized under the hashtag #wewontwearthename.

The school board approved the change in July after years of resistance.

...
Like many other Confederate-named schools, Lee in Montgomery opened as an all-white school in 1955— a year after the Supreme Court ruled in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education that segregated schools were unconstitutional — as the South was actively fighting integration. But white flight after integration orders and shifting demographics meant many of the schools became heavily African American.

A statue of Lee stood outside the school for decades— facing north to keep an eye on his enemies, according to school legend— but was toppled from in pedestal in June. Four people were arrested for knocking over the statue but the charges were later dropped.

...
In Virginia, the removal of Confederate names began in the state’s northern region in 2018, when J.E.B. Stuart High in Falls Church changed to Justice High. Washington-Lee High School in Arlington changed its name to Washington-Liberty at the start of the 2019-2020 academic year.

...
Fairfax County voted for a new name for Robert E. Lee High. Stonewall Jackson High was renamed in Manassas, the place where the Confederate general earned his nickname in the first Battle of Bull Run. Rural Shenandoah County also changed the name of its high school named for Jackson. In Hanover County, a conservative jurisdiction outside Richmond, the school board narrowly voted to change the name of Lee-Davis High.

I think that someone ought to create a "statue garden" for all these toppled statues. Like in Eastern Europe for Communist statues.

As to renaming, consider in Russia:

Saint Petersburg (Sankt-Peterburg) 1703-1914, Petrograd ("Peter town") 1914-1924, Leningrad ("Lenin town") 1924-1991, Saint Petersburg again 1991- present (nicknamed "Piter", pronounced much like English "Peter")

The original name was German, and in WWI it was changed to make it more Slavic. When Lenin died, the city was named after him, and after the fall of Communism, the city was renamed to its original name.

Tsaritsyn 1589-1925, Stalingrad ("Stalin town") 1925-1961, Volgograd ("Volga town", after the Volga River) 1961-present

 

[lpetrich]

D.C. committee recommends stripping the names of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Francis Scott Key and others from city government buildings - The Washington Post

A committee reporting to D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser has recommended renaming dozens of public schools, parks and government buildings in the nation’s capital, after studying the historical namesakes’ connections to slavery and oppression.

The honorees whom the committee says should not have public works named for them include presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson; Revolutionary leader Benjamin Franklin; inventor Alexander Graham Bell; and national anthem writer Francis Scott Key.

...
They deemed problematic 22 of the 177 school namesakes in the District, 2 of the 10 library namesakes, 11 of the 107 recreational center namesakes, 78 of the 742 street namesakes, among other things. In all, the committee termed 153 out of 1,330 individuals who have something named after them in the capital city “persons of concern,” but did not recommend that all their names should be removed.

...
Along with public housing complexes, parks and playgrounds, the committee recommend renaming 21 public schools -- from Eliot-Hine Middle School, named for long-ago Harvard University president and advocate of racist ideas Charles William Eliot; to Brookland Middle School, named for D.C. landowner and Andrew Jackson administration negotiator Jehiel Brooks; to West Education Campus, named for senator and Union military leader Joseph Rodman West. One school is named for two people on the committee’s concern list: Hyde-Addison Elementary, named for both Anthony T. Hyde and Henry Addison.

...
Many monuments in the District are controlled by the federal government. The report recommends that Bowser ask the federal government to either remove or add historical context -- likely in the form of a plaque -- to eight monuments, including the fountain honoring Christopher Columbus outside Union Station and the Washington Monument, named for slaveholder and first president George Washington.

Left unmentioned is the fact that the city of Washington, District of Columbia, is itself named for both of those men.

I like putting plaques on monuments.

But as I write this, the right wing is having a cow over those proposals.

 

[Politesse]

D.C. committee recommends stripping the names of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Francis Scott Key and others from city government buildings - The Washington Post

A committee reporting to D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser has recommended renaming dozens of public schools, parks and government buildings in the nation’s capital, after studying the historical namesakes’ connections to slavery and oppression.

The honorees whom the committee says should not have public works named for them include presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson; Revolutionary leader Benjamin Franklin; inventor Alexander Graham Bell; and national anthem writer Francis Scott Key.

...
They deemed problematic 22 of the 177 school namesakes in the District, 2 of the 10 library namesakes, 11 of the 107 recreational center namesakes, 78 of the 742 street namesakes, among other things. In all, the committee termed 153 out of 1,330 individuals who have something named after them in the capital city “persons of concern,” but did not recommend that all their names should be removed.

...
Along with public housing complexes, parks and playgrounds, the committee recommend renaming 21 public schools -- from Eliot-Hine Middle School, named for long-ago Harvard University president and advocate of racist ideas Charles William Eliot; to Brookland Middle School, named for D.C. landowner and Andrew Jackson administration negotiator Jehiel Brooks; to West Education Campus, named for senator and Union military leader Joseph Rodman West. One school is named for two people on the committee’s concern list: Hyde-Addison Elementary, named for both Anthony T. Hyde and Henry Addison.

...
Many monuments in the District are controlled by the federal government. The report recommends that Bowser ask the federal government to either remove or add historical context -- likely in the form of a plaque -- to eight monuments, including the fountain honoring Christopher Columbus outside Union Station and the Washington Monument, named for slaveholder and first president George Washington.

Left unmentioned is the fact that the city of Washington, District of Columbia, is itself named for both of those men.

I like putting plaques on monuments.

But as I write this, the right wing is having a cow over those proposals.

It doesn't help that all of the news coverage on this focuses on the recommendation to remove, burying the "contextual plaque" option deep in the article. Like with the Defund movement, this encourages people to react emotionally to their mental image of bulldozing historical monuments, rather than as they would feel to a plaque being put up.

I wouldn't have said that the District of Columbia was named for Columbus exactly, that's skipping a step. Like saying that the Mary Sheffield Building was named for Mary the Mother of God.

 

[lpetrich]

"Columbia" is derived from "Columbus", so it's Christopher Columbus there also.

 

[Politesse]

"Columbia" is derived from "Columbus", so it's Christopher Columbus there also.

As I said. Being named after someone who is named after someone is not the same thing as being named after the original person. Columbia was a sort of goddess-like mythical representation of the colonies, who was quite popular in the art and poetry of the day, and the district takes its name from her. There's a bar near where I live called Uncle Sam's bar -- would you say it is named for the meat packer Samuel Wilson who allegedly originally inspired the "Uncle Sam" character in American aesthetics? Or was it just named after the idea of Uncle Sam directly, the guy on the recruitment posters and so forth?

Pictured: Columbia and Columbus, for comparison. One is named for the other, but they are not the same person nor easily mistaken for one another.

 

[lpetrich]

Why the name Columbia and not some other name? Christopher Columbus is an obvious name source. If one considers CC a great villain, one should put that aside and look at what a hero he was considered to be for a long time.

Why not some name like Occidentia? Vesper? Hesperia?

 

[repoman]

It is still from white people.

Try again.

 

[Arctish]

It is still from white people.

Try again.

Are you suggesting that all white people murder, enslave, rape, and torture people? That every white person would cut off the hands of people who resisted their tyrannical rule, or dismember them, or burn them alive?

Because those are the reasons people want to remove Columbus' name from its current place of honor in American society, not the mere fact he was white.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Betty White didn't own slaves. Technically, she could have, back in the 1850s or whenever she reached her majority. So, is Whiteville at least a possibility?
My solution for Columbus is to spell it backwards, like a tune on a jazz album. Submuloc, Ohio. Has a mysterious ring.
Atlanta Braves to be renamed Sacajawea's Herbal Pouch, The Team. Yes, it's a mouthful, and the cheers will sound weird, but it celebrates a Native American woman and the native flora. Go, Pouches. Tomahawk Chop to be replaced with the Pemmican Squeeze, an imitation of squashing the pemmican ingredients into an edible paste. You sort of wring your hands and make squooshing noises.
I am out of ideas, but some of those should make people happy. If they don't, you folks will have to figure it out without me.

 

[Politesse]

Why the name Columbia and not some other name? Christopher Columbus is an obvious name source. If one considers CC a great villain, one should put that aside and look at what a hero he was considered to be for a long time.

Are you being deliberately obtuse? Yes, the name of mythical figure Columbia was derived from that of Cristobal Colon. Not only did I not deny that, my post says it outright. But they are not the same person. There is a connection, but it is indirect. So I don't think it is necessary to rename the capital. But it would be worth discussing, if it were in fact the District of Columbus. I quote my own post, since you apparently didn't read to the bottom of it the first time:

One is named for the other, but they are not the same person nor easily mistaken for one another.

As for Columbus' hero status, that developed long after his death -- if in fact you didn't know that, one suspects that your blustering about the value of history is based more on idolatrous reverence for historical icons than any actual study of history.

 

[Politesse]

Betty White didn't own slaves. Technically, she could have, back in the 1850s or whenever she reached her majority. So, is Whiteville at least a possibility?
My solution for Columbus is to spell it backwards, like a tune on a jazz album. Submuloc, Ohio. Has a mysterious ring.
Atlanta Braves to be renamed Sacajawea's Herbal Pouch, The Team. Yes, it's a mouthful, and the cheers will sound weird, but it celebrates a Native American woman and the native flora. Go, Pouches. Tomahawk Chop to be replaced with the Pemmican Squeeze, an imitation of squashing the pemmican ingredients into an edible paste. You sort of wring your hands and make squooshing noises.
I am out of ideas, but some of those should make people happy. If they don't, you folks will have to figure it out without me.

So you're suggesting that telling a bunch of racist jokes will somehow calm racial tensions?

 

[Arctish]

Betty White didn't own slaves. Technically, she could have, back in the 1850s or whenever she reached her majority. So, is Whiteville at least a possibility?

My solution for Columbus is to spell it backwards, like a tune on a jazz album. Submuloc, Ohio. Has a mysterious ring.

Betty White is from Illinois. AFAIK she never lived in Ohio, and might not have ever visited, either.

Neil Armstrong was from there. So were John Glenn, Jim Lovell, and Judith Resnick. I think they're worthy of the honor of contributing a few place names.

R.L. Stine is also from Ohio, and he wrote Goosebumps, which would be an awesome name for Ohio's state capital.

Atlanta Braves to be renamed Sacajawea's Herbal Pouch, The Team. Yes, it's a mouthful, and the cheers will sound weird, but it celebrates a Native American woman and the native flora. Go, Pouches. Tomahawk Chop to be replaced with the Pemmican Squeeze, an imitation of squashing the pemmican ingredients into an edible paste. You sort of wring your hands and make squooshing noises.
I am out of ideas, but some of those should make people happy. If they don't, you folks will have to figure it out without me.

Why go with the Native American theme when there's so much culture that can be referenced?

"Welcome to Goosebumps, Ohio. Tonight our local team, the Ohio Astronauts, is hosting the Atlanta Persimmons (they'll make your mouth pucker most of the time but they're pretty sweet in October). We hope you enjoy your stay. Here's a complimentary can of Pringles."

 

[lpetrich]

Ralph Northam on Twitter: "Last night, Virginia removed its statue of Robert E. Lee from the U.S. Capitol.

This is an important step forward—it is past time we tell our story with images of perseverance, diversity, and inclusion. https://t.co/zyR99ukiIz" / Twitter

Rep. Jennifer Wexton on Twitter: "Early this morning, I witnessed the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue from the U.S. Capitol.

It was a historic & overdue moment.

I’m proud the work @RepMcEachin & I started a year ago led to this. We deserve to be represented by a figure who truly embodies Virginia’s values. https://t.co/EIZwNaO8pX" / Twitter

Tim Kaine on Twitter: "4:02 am. 12/21/20. Crypt of the US Capitol. https://t.co/2ttGecsj5B" / Twitter - some video of the removal of that statue.

 

[lpetrich]

What happens next? Each state gets two statues in the basement of the Capitol building.

Craig Caplan on Twitter: "VA Democratic Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton and VA Democratic Senator Tim Kaine were present at the US Capitol earlier this morning ..." / Twitter

VA Democratic Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton and VA Democratic Senator Tim Kaine were present at the US Capitol earlier this morning as Virginia’s statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee was removed. It will be replaced by a sculpture of civil rights icon Barbara Rose Johns.

Robert E. Lee statue removal from US Capitol was announced this morning by VA Gov. Ralph Northam (D). The Confederate statue & the statue of President George Washington were added in 1909 to National Statuary Hall Collection,which includes 2 statues from each state in US Capitol.

The Robert E. Lee statue was one among 13 located in the Crypt of the US Capitol, representing the 13 original colonies.

According to VA Gov's office,VA General Assembly must approve the replacement statue before a sculptor can be commissioned. Gov. Northam proposed $500,000 to replace it.If approved, the Barbara Rose Johns statue would be the only teenager represented in the US Capitol collection.

House Speaker Pelosi: "The removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee and its forthcoming replacement by a tribute to Barbara Johns, a civil rights pioneer and pride of Virginia, is welcome news."

Pelosi: "The halls of Congress are the very heart of our Democracy, and the statues within the Capitol should embody our highest ideals as Americans."

Pelosi: “That is why, in my first term as House Speaker, under the leadership of Democrats in Congress, we relocated the Robert E. Lee statue out of a place of honor in National Statuary Hall, where a statue of Rosa Parks now proudly stands."

Pelosi: "And it is why we have worked to remove other symbols of hate in the Capitol and across our country, including by passing legislation this summer to remove statues of Confederate officials and other representatives of bigotry from the Capitol..."

Pelosi: "...and by beginning the process of renaming military bases and infrastructure named after Confederate leaders through this year’s National Defense Authorization Act."

Pelosi: “The Congress will continue our work to rid the Capitol of homages to hate, as we fight to end the scourge of racism in our country. There is no room for celebrating the bigotry of the Confederacy in the Capitol or any other place of honor in our country.”

Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine was in the Crypt of the US Capitol very early this morning for the removal of Virginia's statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA): “The removal of the Robert E. Lee statue from the U.S. Capitol today is an important step in confronting our nation’s painful legacy of slavery, racism, and oppression.”

Lee (D-CA): “I applaud the replacement of this statue with one of Barbara Johns – a civil rights pioneer who, at the age of 16, played a key role in the desegregation of public schools.”

Lee (D-CA): “Statues honoring those who committed treason against our country to preserve the institution of slavery have no place in our society and certainly should not be enshrined in our government buildings.”

Lee (D-CA): “Our fight to remove symbols of hate and racism is far from over. I will continue working with my colleagues to ensure that these statues are never welcomed again in our Capitol or any place of honor.”

They've already picked out a replacement.

However, I'd prefer referring to moral ugliness rather than hate.

 

[Patooka]

Ralph Northam on Twitter: "Last night, Virginia removed its statue of Robert E. Lee from the U.S. Capitol.

This is an important step forward—it is past time we tell our story with images of perseverance, diversity, and inclusion. https://t.co/zyR99ukiIz" / Twitter

Rep. Jennifer Wexton on Twitter: "Early this morning, I witnessed the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue from the U.S. Capitol.

It was a historic & overdue moment.

I’m proud the work @RepMcEachin & I started a year ago led to this. We deserve to be represented by a figure who truly embodies Virginia’s values. https://t.co/EIZwNaO8pX" / Twitter

Tim Kaine on Twitter: "4:02 am. 12/21/20. Crypt of the US Capitol. https://t.co/2ttGecsj5B" / Twitter - some video of the removal of that statue.

It's okay, PragerU is on the Case:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1YOfkFSERc[/youtube]

Well, I'm convinced.