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Confederate-themed monuments: Time to reassess

North Carolina Council of Churches · September 21, 2017 · 8 Comments

Issue Statement on Confederate Monuments

Approved September 13, 2017 by the Governing Board of the North Carolina Council of Churches

The Governing Board of the N.C. Council of Churches, mindful of the tensions in our state and nation related to the display of monuments saluting the heritage of the Confederacy, adopts this statement of facts and principles:

A great public debate has flared regarding some of the South’s most familiar civic symbols – the monuments that for decades have sought to honor those men who fought and by the many thousands died in the Civil War.

  • The debate springs from an inescapable truth: Monuments that have the effect of glorifying the South’s Lost Cause and of venerating those who were its defenders must be seen as sympathetic to, or at the least heedless of, the racial oppression that the Confederacy was dedicated to upholding.
  • That oppression was rooted in the enslavement of black people. It had its further cruel chapters in the outrageous regime of racial segregation known as Jim Crow. African-Americans were deprived of their birthright under the Constitution to equality before the law as far too many Southerners refused to surrender their notions of white supremacy.
  • It is no wonder that the monuments standing in so many of our public squares, in North Carolina and elsewhere, conjure up bitter memories of times that should not be forgotten, but in no way celebrated.

The N.C. Council of Churches represents diverse congregations totaling more than a million members. It had its genesis in 1935 as an organization dedicated to racial equality in keeping with Christian precepts of love for one another and care for the underprivileged. In that light, the Council’s Governing Board believes it is time to acknowledge the inherent offensiveness of monuments and memorials evoking the eras of slavery and racial discrimination whose ill effects remain all too visible.

  • We call for a re-examination of the roles of civic images hearkening back to an era when racial injustice was our state’s official policy – a policy so deeply ingrained that torrents of blood were spilled to defend it and to defeat it.
  • Unless the debate now rapidly intensifying yields a new, thoughtful consensus about these artifacts’ proper role in our civic landscape, there will be little chance to calm the currents of mistrust and resentment that increasingly divide us and that too often are exploited by unscrupulous politicians and power-brokers for their own ends.

The violence that has shadowed this debate – recently and prominently, in Charlottesville, where a person marching against racist bigotry was killed in an episode of domestic terrorism – is an intolerable affront to the civic order.

  • Authorities must take all reasonable measures to prevent any more such violent episodes, and people of good will must unite in working to overcome disagreements peaceably – even when underlying problems are as vexing and hurtful as the legacy of racism.

In a state as large and diverse as North Carolina — where images of Confederate soldiers stand guard outside courthouses in rural county seats, amid cities bustling with high-tech enterprise and, yes, at our most significant public space, the state Capitol itself — a policy for the display of these monuments need not be one-size-fits-all.

  • That’s the case even though there no longer can be a valid excuse when Confederate imagery is presented without accompanying historical context, and in more of a spirit of pride in Southern valor than in regret for the monstrous pain occasioned by the South’s rebellion.
  • Session Law 2015-170, as enacted by the General Assembly, severely limits the authority of this state’s communities to make their own decisions about the further siting and display of monuments evoking North Carolina’s military history that now are located on public property.
  • The Board finds these restrictions to be undemocratic, unnecessary and counterproductive. It therefore endorses Gov. Roy Cooper’s call for repeal of the law.

Decisions about the fate of monuments to the Confederate cause and to those who served that cause – when the monuments may have been woven into a community’s civic fabric for a century or more – should not be made in haste. But local officials should have sufficient flexibility to ensure that monuments within their purview do not serve as implicit endorsements of racial discrimination. They should have the leeway to reflect a community’s evolving understanding of the messages such monuments convey.

  • Many Confederate-themed monuments were erected during the late 19th and early 20th centuries as white supremacy and Jim Crow segregation tightened their grip on African-American citizens. Even when the monuments’ overt purpose was to memorialize Confederate veterans then passing from the scene, they also became totems, whether or not deliberately, of the racial oppression bedeviling the South then and for years to come.
  • There now is an upsurge of fervor among white supremacist groups intent on countering black citizens’ demands for further progress toward social equality. In some instances, such as in Charlottesville, those groups have made common cause with neo-Nazis. They see Confederate monuments as convenient symbols of their contempt for African-Americans and for others who seek to prevent this nation from sliding toward totalitarianism.
  • The Board believes that when monuments such as the Charlottesville statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee are appropriated by today’s white racists to rally support or to try to ennoble their bigotry, we have a doubly compelling duty to reconsider the place of those images in the public landscape.
  • That reconsideration should not be aimed at obliterating history. It should be aimed at enhancing public understanding of how the monuments came about – who sponsored and erected them, when, why and how.

Monuments given civic pride of place should reflect our most treasured values – and not those treasured by one segment of the public while loathed by another. They should be values at the foundation of our democracy – perhaps none so important as that all of us are created equal and are equally entitled to the privileges and protections of citizenship.

  • Race discrimination is the very antithesis of that equality and lies at the root of many of our society’s ills. We must take care that our public symbols cannot be seen as glorifying it. The protesters who pulled down the statue of a Confederate soldier in Durham on Aug. 14, 2017 and others who have called for the removal of a similar statue on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are among those who see such glorification and reject it.
  • This Board regrets the unlawful destruction of property as occurred in Durham. It is concerned as well that such incidents could escalate into violence in which people were hurt. The potential for public confrontation further underscores the urgent need for honest dialogue as to how North Carolina can move beyond the times when symbols of the Confederacy could be presented without explanation and without context.

The physical relocation of monuments – perhaps to museums or cemeteries – may in some instances be both practical and desirable. But whether or not they are moved, there must be deliberate efforts to better inform and educate regarding the history of these “objects of remembrance” and how they can be perceived. That could include explanatory signage, pamphlets for visitors, comprehensive online descriptions and school curricular materials developed to be both historically objective and accurate.

  • Progress of this nature depends on the good-faith support of our political and civic leaders, hopefully responsive to the concerns of many citizens including those of us who speak from a faith perspective.
  • Politicians who shirk this obligation out of a cynical pandering to supposed allies in league with white supremacists and neo-Nazis defile their oaths of office. The president of the United States has a special responsibility to rise above this kind of divisiveness.

Our society now seems increasingly stressed by animosities along fault lines of race and class. In keeping with the Council’s founding tenets, this Board recognizes the need to update and refine policies for the display of monuments that, for all their appeal within a certain sphere of traditional Southern culture, will serve only to widen those fault lines if allowed to stand without critical assessment or challenge.

Filed Under: Issue Statements

North Carolina Council of Churches

About North Carolina Council of Churches

The Council enables denominations, congregations, and people of faith to individually and collectively impact our state on issues such as economic justice and development, human well-being, equality, compassion and peace, following the example and mission of Jesus Christ. Learn more about our work here: www.ncchurches.org/about

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarJoe says

    September 28, 2017 at 10:32 pm

    And Alison Lee is right to say there are better ways to bring about change.

    Reply
  2. AvatarGeorge McClelland says

    September 26, 2017 at 3:51 pm

    The authors of this document allowed their prejudices to influence their thinking. It is the liberal minority who are causing the trauma which is dividing our country. Unfortunately the media is owned by evil people who do not want the truth publicized. Anything that goes against their prejudices is not given the light of day. Many good things have happened and are happening which the public never sees.

    For the information of the authors of the NC council of churches’ information: our President has done more to help our country than any President who preceded him. He is attempting to rise above the divisiveness of the far left. It is the media and the far left which keeps the divisiveness a hot issue. Many of our religious leaders fall into the divisive category.

    Reply
  3. AvatarGeorge McClelland says

    September 26, 2017 at 3:49 pm

    The authors of this document allowed their prejudices to influence their thinking. The majority do not want those historical markers removed. It is the liberal minority who are causing the trauma which is dividing our country. Unfortunately the media is owned by evil people who do not want the truth publicized. Anything that goes against their prejudices is kept secret. Many good things have happened and are happening which the public never sees.

    For the information of the authors of the NC council of churches’ information: our President has done more to help our country than any President who preceded him. He is attempting to rise above the divisiveness of the far left. It is the media and the far left which keeps the divisiveness a hot issue. Many of our religious leaders fall into the divisive category.

    Reply
  4. AvatarGeorge McClelland says

    September 26, 2017 at 3:18 pm

    As a retired minister who served in many northern and southern communities, I must make some comments.

    History of the Civil War as taught in schools is filled with lies.

    1.The Civil War was not fought to “free” the slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation was already in force prior to the war. Whole battalions consisting of blacks served in both sides of the conflict.

    2. The war was an economic event. The North’s economy was based on commerce (buying and selling overseas). England was not happy with losing the Revolutionary War and wanted to continue ruling the US. They wanted to divide the country in order to retake it. They had made plans to invade the US as soon as the Confederate won. In order to set up the background to assure the Civil War would happen, they threatened to relocate the industrial complex into the South. That move infuriated the leaders of the Northern states as it would have destroyed their economy.

    3. As proof of England’s intentions, look at the war of 1812 when the Star Spangled Banner was written. England wanted to destroy the 13th amendment to our Constitution. They succeeded in burning Washington and government buildings along with all copies of the Constitution which was located in DC. Fortunately the amendment had already been approved by the necessary number of states to make it official constitutional law and many of the states had incorporated the amendment in their constitutions. Why did England want to destroy the 13th amendment? Because it prevented all people with titles of royalty from serving in any public office. Lawyers have a title of royalty (Esquire) and pledge allegiance to England via the BAR (which makes them traitors to the US). By controlling the lawyers, they could effectively control the US.

    President George Washington, as well as most people with wealth in both North and South, owned slaves. He freed his slaves once he realized it was wrong, but slavery was the norm of his day – and all the way back before recorded history. Race had nothing to do with slavery. If you were taken prisoner for any reason you became a slave. Some of our Biblical heroes had been slaves.

    So, should we destroy monuments because we don’t agree with something in their background? No. They represent part of our history. What we should do is print history books with truth instead of lies. (By the way, indentured servants were treated much worse than slaves with most losing their lives before completing their indentured term of service.

    Now for the medical area. Some people want to force medications and “immunizations” on people. That is a violation of our Constitutional and God given rights. No one, not politicians nor governments, have the legitimate power to force submission (which amounts to slavery) on anyone. Also, do your research and you will discover that vaccinations are, by nature, dangerous, have not been tested for safety, and independent science has shown most vaccines to be total failures. (If vaccines worked, the people who have not been vaccinated would pose no threat to those vaccinated.) It has been proven that the CDC has intentionally colluded with vaccine makers to defraud the public concerning vaccine safety. They even covered up the fact that vaccines are 4 times more dangerous for people of color than for people with European backgrounds.

    Reply
  5. AvatarAlison Lee says

    September 26, 2017 at 1:35 am

    I disagree with this position. First, applying contemporary values retroactively seems anachronistic. Second, such a narrow interpretation of the statues symbolism seems unusually provincial. Third, this cause sounds like straightening the chairs on the Titanic–i.e. there may be better way to bring about social change. Fourth, for most people Confederate war heroes do not represent racism or white supremacy. Fifth, does anyone really believe that a sanitized, sterilized environment devoid of all offensive symbols could really be a benefit to social consciousness and development?

    Reply
    • AvatarJoe says

      September 28, 2017 at 10:28 pm

      I agree with Allison’s view points. Carry on.

      Reply
    • Andrew Hudgins, Program Associate for OperationsAndrew Hudgins, Program Associate for Operations says

      October 5, 2017 at 11:56 am

      Response from Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director:

      Thank you for engaging this issue with us. We agree with you that social change can be wrought through many channels, however, it could be that regularly seeing symbols of oppression standing in honored places sends a message to those who were oppressed that their history is less valuable. Moving those symbols to a different location is a first step toward valuing their story. We also agree that a “sanitized, sterilized environment” is no solution. Instead, the truth as experienced from multiple angles must be the story we tell ourselves in order to understand a fuller story about all of our histories.

      Reply

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