The Week in Confederate Heritage

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We begin with this story reporting on a survey regarding confederate monuments. “A majority of Americans said Confederate memorials should be changed in public spaces, while nearly two out of three say white supremacy is still a major problem in the U.S. The non-profit Public Religion Research Institute recently released a poll and report about racism and discrimination in America. The group looked at various aspects of race relations in the country. About 73 percent of people called for some type of changes to confederate memorials in public spaces. The debate over the monuments reached a fever pitch during the Black Lives Matter movement, with many cities and college campuses removing statues and monuments. Many proponents said they represent racist ideals. However, some claim it’s removing history. The survey found about 35 percent said the monuments should be left in place with added information about the history of slavery and racism. About 28 percent said monuments should be removed and placed in a museum. While 10 percent said they should be destroyed. Roughly 26 percent said they should be left as is. Republicans were less supportive of changing Confederate monuments. Only 1 percent said they should be removed and destroyed. Compared to 17 percent of Democrats who said they should be destroyed. A slight majority, 52 percent, favored renaming schools and mascots that supported slavery and racial discrimination, such as Confederate leaders. Half of the people in the survey supported renaming school mascots that use Native American images. Overall, 62 percent of people said white supremacy is still a major problem in the U.S. today. However, 72 percent said that white Americans today are not responsible for discrimination against Black people in the past. Approximately 62 percent of people said white people in the U.S. have certain advantages because of the color of their skin. Fifty-six percent of people said racial minorities use racism as an excuse more than they should, according to the institute’s report. Finally, only 26 percent of people said that racial problems in the U.S. are rare and isolated situations, the survey found.”

Next is this article from Richmond, Virginia. “The future of Richmond’s last standing Confederate monument will be discussed inside of a courtroom on Thursday morning. The case between city officials and relatives of the Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill will be heard at 10 a.m. in Richmond Circuit Court. The Aug. 30 hearing was continued until Sept. 29. The statue has stood in the middle of Hermitage and Laburnum roads on the city’s Northside for more than 130 years. Both sides have agreed that Hill’s remains inside the statue would be transferred to a Culpeper cemetery, according to the Richmond Free Press. However, the city wants the statue turned over to the Black History Museum that currently possesses the city’s other removed Confederate monuments. Hill’s relatives instead, according to the paper, want the city to pay for the statue to be set up in a place of their choosing. … Rich Souser is an historian who has studied the history of this statue. He has also called the neighboring Bellevue area home for 36 years. ‘As a mausoleum, the law seems to indicate that the city’s plan to separate the statue part from the rest of the grave would not be legal,’ Souser explained. ‘So that may be a losing strategy for the city. But again, with any court issue, nobody knows until the judge actually looks at it.’ While some believed the Confederate monuments symbolize ‘southern heritage’ and their history, others like Liz Pettit said the statue represents white supremacy. … ‘I also just don’t want my child seeing this every day in her life. It’s not the kind of icon I want her to see as part of our community,’ Pettit explained. ‘It’s also really dangerous to drive ride and bike through this intersection because people don’t know how to manage the traffic circle.’ Tara FitzPatrick serves at the Richmond Public Schools Safe Routes to Schools coordinator at Holton Elementary that borders the statue. The statue makes morning and afternoon commutes for students and families that much harder, she said. … According to DMV’s crash locator map, the intersection saw 23 crashes in 2019, 17 in 2020 and 12 in 2021. City officials said in February the intersection will be paved over with asphalt.”

Now we look at this article from Bastrop County, Texas. “There are still Confederate monuments at the Bastrop County courthouse, and residents have split opinions on what should happen to them. Just over two years ago, County Commissioners approved moving the two monuments, with private funding that was raised. However, the monuments still sit on the grounds of the courthouse. Commissioners discussed a capital improvement project during a meeting Monday to pay for items including refurbishing the old jail to eventually become a museum. That discussion included talk about putting the monuments there, though Bastrop County officials pointed out to KXAN that there is nothing in the jail refurbishment plan regarding moving or storing monuments, and they don’t know why everyone showed up today. Refurbishment would also take time, and money that still hasn’t been secured. Residents at the meeting were split on what to do with the monuments in the meantime. Gilbert Zamora wants the monuments removed. ‘They were treasonous and traitors, and they put a monument out there for them,’ he said. ‘That’s not what they are supposed to be. They belong in a museum, where you declared it to be. We raised private funds to be put there, and that’s what needs to be done.’ Mel Cooper with Bastrop County Conservatives said on the other hand, taxes could be better-spent. ‘If we’re talking about spending tax dollars, let’s talk about spending tax dollars for the purposes they were intended; taking care of the voters. Not tax dollars for moving monuments around the county.’ Ultimately, no action was taken at the meeting. Regardless, the County wants to get the ball rolling on the jail refurbishment. Bastrop County Judge Paul Pape noted the roof of the old jail and clock tower still leak, and they’re worried about growing water damage, which would cost even more to fix if left untouched.”