Carson Spencer
4/28/2021
Multicultural studies
Removal of confederate statues
January 1st, 1863 was The day Abraham Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation which abolished slavery in the United States. That day over 3,000,000 enslaved people was given their freedom. But the racist ideology of the country had not changed. They were free in a legal definition but still bound by the systematic racism in the country. After the late 1870s the once confederate states became passing Jim crow laws, The laws consisted of racial segregation. African Americans and Whites were not allowed to use the same drinking fountains, public transit, stores, parks, restaurants, and many more. The African American community faced discrimination by lawmakers police and the general public. Many towns and cities had Monuments and statues decorating confederate generals and politicians. This is a direct slap in the face to the African American community who spent decades in slavery to have to walk past and see statues of men who once fought and died to keep them enslaved. This brings us to the argument of today’s political climate. Many people today believe we should longer have statues commemorating these political figures. I could not agree with them more.
For example in Germany after world war 2 did the german people build statues of
Heinrich Himmler or Adolf Hitler enslaved, killed many Jews because they were considered subhuman. So why should we have confederate statues? The answer is We shouldn’t there is no ethical reason to put these people on a pedestal and commemorate them. At the end of the day, these people were fighting to keep their right to OWN other humans as property.
There are plenty of Famous African American individuals who should take place of the confederate statues. One famous individual I would like to mention would be Frederick Douglas. Frederick Douglas was born into slavery and was separated from his family. Frederick taught himself to read and write. His slave master discovered this and sent him to a plantation where he was ruthlessly beaten by his new slave master. He escaped slavery in 1838 he dodged slave hunters looking for runaway slaves and eventually made it to the north. He later joined the radical abolitionist movement. He was noted and recognized for being a powerful writer and gave speeches to encourage African American men to join the union army to fight the confederates. He was admired by President Abraham lincoln. He once stated in a speech ” It was Self-evident that black Americans as citizens were entitled to full freedoms and full legal protection” (Douglas).
This is a man we should be commemorating not a confederate general. We need to be commemorating men and women who made a REAL change to better the United States as a whole rather than men and women who broke it down and tore it apart.
Another famous African American figure I would like to mention would be Richard Allen. Richard was born into slavery and separated from his family. He joined the Methodist church and learned to read and write. His slave owner allowed him to purchase his slavery at the age of 20. Where he became a free man. He became a woodcutter and in his travels preached the gospel to African Americans and whites. He later went to establish the Free African Society in 1787. He held classes to teach African Americans to read and write. He was considered one of the most influential figures in the 18th century for African Americans. In conclusion to my essay.
These are the people we need to be idolizing in our country because they are people who sought to bring us together and bring equality to this nation. Instead of tearing it apart. There are many other African American Poets, inventors, political activities, and servicemen that are unrecognized in history. This is why we need to take down these monuments and replace them with Figures who we can Idolize and future generations to come, Can know the history of their roots. We need to take a step forward in this country and take down these monuments