By Donovan Schaefer
In October 2023, nearly seven years after the deadly Unite the Right white supremacist rally, the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia, was melted down. Since then, two more major Confederate monuments have been removed: the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery and the Monument to the Women of the Confederacy in Jacksonville, Florida.
Defenders of Confederate monuments have argued that the statues should be left standing to educate future generations. One such defender is former President Donald Trump, the likely GOP presidential nominee in 2024.
“Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments,” Trump tweeted in 2017. “The beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!”
But since the end of the Civil War, journalists at Black newspapers have told a different story. Despite meager financing and constant threats, these newspapers represented the views of Black Americans and documented the nation’s shortcomings in achieving racial equality.
According to many of these writers, the statues were never designed to tell the truth about the Civil War. Instead, the monuments were built to enshrine the the myth of the “Lost Cause,” the false claim that white Southerners nobly fought for states’ rights – and not to preserve slavery.
In 1921, for instance, the Chicago Defender published an article under the headline “Tear the Spirit of the Confederacy from the South” and called for the removal of the statues from across the country because they “lend inspiration to the heart of the lyncher.”
‘Lost Cause’ propaganda
For the last several years, I’ve studied the history of Confederate monuments by poring over the letters and records of the organizations that campaigned for their construction. My research students and I have also reviewed countless reactions to the monuments published in real time in Black newspapers.
What is clear is that from the late nineteenth century until today, Confederate monuments were part of a relentless propaganda campaign to restore the South’s reputation at dedication ceremonies, parades, reunions and Memorial Day events.
The dedication in Charlottesville of the Lee monument in 1924 – 100 years ago this May – was one such event.
Timed to coincide with a reunion of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the speakers openly bragged about how they were sweeping Northern-authored textbooks out of Southern schools and replacing them with friendlier accounts of the Civil War.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
In the weeks leading up to the dedication, members of the Ku Klux Klan paraded down Charlottesville’s Main Street in daylight and burned crosses in the hills at night.
The master of ceremonies of that unveiling was R.T.W. Duke, Jr., the son of a Confederate colonel who was a popular orator at events like these.
A few years earlier, Duke made his own views of the Civil War plain.
He told a crowd gathered at a Confederate cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, that he was “still a believer in the righteousness of what some of our own people now call the ‘rebellion.‘”
Duke further said “that slavery was right and emancipation a violation of the Constitution, a wrong and a robbery.”
A critical Black press
Contrary to the claims of today’s defenders of Confederate monuments, a review of Black newspapers going back to the 1870s conducted by my research team shows that Black journalists’ criticism of these memorials had already begun by the late nineteenth century.
The first truly national Confederate monument was the statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond. It was unveiled before an audience of as many as 150,000 attendees on May 29, 1890, and provoked sharp alarm among Black commentators across the country.
In a May 31, 1890, article, Richmond Planet editor John Mitchell, Jr. pointed out that Confederate flags and emblems far outnumbered U.S. flags at the unveiling.
Encyclopedia Virginia
“This glorification of States Rights Doctrine, the right of ‘secession’ and the honoring of men who represented that cause, fosters in this Republic the spirit of Rebellion and will ultimately result in handing down to generations unborn a legacy of treason and blood,” Mitchell wrote.
Mitchell further detailed the enthusiasm of the crowd assembled in Richmond.
“Cheer after cheer rang out upon the air as fair women waved handkerchiefs and screamed to do honor,” Mitchell wrote. But the South’s insistence on celebrating Lee “serves to retard its progress in the country and forges heavier chains with which to be bound.”
By reprinting articles from other Black publications, the Planet in 1890 effectively created a forum for commentary on the Richmond Lee statue from around the country.
Library of Congress/Getty Images
An article republished from the National Home Protector, a Baltimore-based Black newspaper, also took aim at the statue.
“When the unveiling of the monument is used as an opportunity to justify the southern people in rebelling against the U.S. government and to flaunt the Confederate flag in the faces of the loyal people of the nation the occasion calls for serious reflection,” the article said.
The editors of the newspaper accused white Southerners of trying to use the glorification of Lee to resurrect the “corpse of rebellion.”
Writing truth to power
No one knows what the Black-owned Charlottesville Messenger said about the unveiling of the Lee monument in its city in 1924.
Only one copy of a single issue still exists. In fact, one of the only things known about the Messenger is that in 1921, the white-dominated Charlottesville Daily Progress reprinted a Messenger article that called for Black civil rights. The Black newspaper later retracted the story after receiving threats from white supremacists.
But we do know what other Black newspapers of this period were saying about Confederate monuments. For many Black editors, the monuments had become symbols of the violent backlash against Black citizenship by white Southerners.
In 1925, the Pittsburgh Courier, criticized the Confederate carving on Stone Mountain in Georgia, the site of the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan.
Taking square aim at the Lost Cause myth, the newspaper called Stone Mountain “a living monument of the cause to which white Southerners have dedicated their lives: human slavery and color selfishness.”
The Confederate monument on the side of Stone Mountain still stands today.
Telling the truth about American history requires transforming these memorials into true reflections of the seemingly never-ending battles initially fought during the the Civil War.
Donovan Schaefer is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
The Conversation arose out of deep-seated concerns for the fading quality of our public discourse and recognition of the vital role that academic experts could play in the public arena. Information has always been essential to democracy. It’s a societal good, like clean water. But many now find it difficult to put their trust in the media and experts who have spent years researching a topic. Instead, they listen to those who have the loudest voices. Those uninformed views are amplified by social media networks that reward those who spark outrage instead of insight or thoughtful discussion. The Conversation seeks to be part of the solution to this problem, to raise up the voices of true experts and to make their knowledge available to everyone. The Conversation publishes nightly at 9 p.m. on FlaglerLive.
Wallington says
One would expect the Donald to support the Confederacy since white supremacy is part of his DNA. He learned at the right hand of his father who, reputedly, was arrested on Memorial Day 1929 as a member of the KKK at an anti-NYPD rally. He was also cited by the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division for discriminating against blacks in the rental of his properties. Knowing that the DOJ was correct, he agreed to the citation.
DaleL says
The “honor” of the Confederacy is exemplified by the battle of Fort Pillow. A force of 1,500 Confederates defeated a force of 550 Americans at Fort Pillow. Half of the American troops were Black. The outnumbered American troops eventually surrendered. The Confederates were enraged by Blacks in the US Army. They murdered 70% of the Black troops. Whereas the American White troops were not gunned down to the same degree. (About 300 American troops were killed compared with 14 Confederates.)
In no other country are there statutes and monuments dedicated to traitors. It just boggles my mind.
In addition, our Supreme Court now has to decide if a Constitutional Amendment, passed just after the Civil War, which was meant to keep insurrectionists out of political power, applies to a modern insurrectionist. A person whose followers literally paraded a Confederate battle flag through our Capitol!
JimboXYZ says
The truth of American History is taught in schools everyday to a certain point for K-12. For a century & a half plus State Governments have been turning a profit on the historical sites & landmarks. Sometimes one has to visit & get the next level presentations of the history to appreciate he lesson plans that go beyond a textbook ? Imagine a world with no field trips ? Would St Augustine, FL be just another beach town, Fort Matanzas be just another stretch of A1A ? Should Fernandina Beach (Fort Clinch) & Jacksonville, FL have any historical sites.
4th day into February 2024, the last thing on my mind was slavery, the KKK, White Supremacy and whatever else that a leap year is going to have 29 days of being waterboarded with history that is no more or less important to be preserved than Cofederate history for a lesson plan. Just a question, when are the articles on the African Slave Coast of Ghana & surrounding nations going to be published ? Maybe if these locations were more accessible & in Georgia somewhere ? February is a month that I can’t be only one that won’t miss 28/29 days of triggering articles. The University of PA professor perpetuates slavery & racism, how he chooses to earn a living I guess ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Africa_slave_Regions.svg
James says
When black people own you and your family on US soil as slaves then you get to ask bogus questions.
James says
Two wrongs… no, any number of wrongs will ever
make slavery right.
It’s just wrong, period.
Just my opinion.
James says
Eh, JimboXYZ are you from here, or are you another retiree?
Just curious… hope you don’t mind me asking.
The Geode says
If they’ve “always known”, how come NOW is the time to complain about it? It seems as IF “white people” are using us as a proxy for what THEY want to say to keep a people loyal and the votes flowing one way because as Joe Biden said, “Blacks aren’t very diverse. I don’t see 1/10 of the “racism” that the “media” tells me that is out there waiting for my black ass as soon as I dare leave my house…
This narrative is only fed to the ONLY race of people willing to be victimized or “pigeon-holed” into a hapless stereotype.
“The soft bigotry of low expectations”. IT’S A THING!
Thurston Howell III says
We were at Stone Mountain last month and I saw SEVERAL black families pose for photos in front of the ‘Confederate’ Mountain. The Mountain is the big draw to the park and the reason everyone goes there. It is a Beautiful carving! Stop brewing trouble and hate with your nonsense article.
Sherry says
@thIII. . . Geez, consider the possibility that black people were posing in front of the “Confederate Mountain” for the same (twisted?) complex reasons that Jewish people pose in front of “Concentration Camps. Maybe, just maybe, in remembrances of “human’s inhumanity”.
James says
You don’t have to go very far to be reminded of man’s inhumanity to man.
That’s why I asked JimboXYZ, was he from out here.
They’re many things “left out” of the history books… ask Diane Roberts.
And for those that might know, believe me, my soul bleeds every time I complain about clean drinking water… but it’s something I still feel must be said (in Palm Coast at least).
There were atrocities committed on both sides I’m sure, but the North won and so who knows.
I had never read of it till recently, while researching some facts about this very statue of Lee… not that it was directly related.
What I do not know is if JimboXYZ knows… and if he does why the hell would he or anyone else EVER want to support a man who even thinks of re-fighting the civil war.
There I’ve said it, I’m so very sorry I had too.
Just my opinion.
Sherry says
Dear James,
There are several people who comment regularly on Flaglerlive who are simply devoid of independent thought. It is my contention that (at best) they are victims of 20+ years of FOX extreme right winged propaganda/misinformation/disinformation/out right lies. Those who choose to continue to be devotees of the FOX/Newsmax/Brietbart propaganda silo seem lost to fact driven reality of any kind. Those outlets do not publish the entire truth about trump. For example, the majority of his supporters still believe the “Big Lie” about trump’s loss in the last election. Many do not know that trump was found guilty of sexual assault and defamation which carries a penalty of over 83 million dollars. His supporters don’t know better because they are not informed correctly by their chosen media (in this case, not “news”) outlet.
There seems to be an addictive component to such media outlets. Emotional fear triggers are intentionally built in, all to build market share and maximize commercial profits. Our fellow citizens are being duped. What a terrible waste of humanity.
Stop the madness says
Crazily enough, they do have an educational value. However, it should be by choice! Statues can be put into a museum that lends a visual to history, but folks should have the choice to visit and interpret. To leave these representations of a view of history in the landscape it forces people to see and feel what it represents every time they go by. The forcing of ideology upon the general public or certain parts of our community is wrong. Trump got that part wrong– removing isn’t a disservice but a right fixing a wrong, however, he is right that it should still be made available IF YOU CHOOSE to see it and educate yourself/children/etc. on that history. Remove and replace should be the easy solution.
James says
As the cover dropped…
“Cheer after cheer rang out upon the air as fair women waved handkerchiefs and screamed to do honor.” Mitchell wrote.
But then, one by one… like a scene from a Mel Brooks movie that hadn’t been made yet… a collective gasp went through the crowd and then silence… the event quickly coming to it’s end.
They had noticed the horse.
Too bad it didn’t happen that way though… or maybe it did?
Just say’n.