Revisiting Sacred Cows: Which Figures From History Do We Honor, And How? – By Melissa Block (NPR) / July 3 2020
In Richmond, Va., the former capital of the Confederacy, a bronze statue of Confederate general Stonewall Jackson sitting triumphantly astride his horse, Little Sorrel, no longer towers above that city’s Monument Avenue.
To the cheers of a crowd of onlookers who gathered in the pouring rain earlier this week, work crews cut the statue from its granite base, and after hours of labor, a crane lifted it away to be put in storage, at least temporarily.
Jackson’s dethroning came on orders from Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, who claimed emergency powers to act in the interest of public safety. “We’ve had 33 days of unrest,” Stoney told NPR. “It’s time to move beyond the lost cause and embrace the righteous cause. We can be more than just the capital of the Confederacy. It’s time for us to be the capital of compassion.”
The removal of the Stonewall Jackson memorial is emblematic of a nationwide reckoning with race that has re-energized debates over which historical figures we honor and how.
The scrutiny goes well beyond monuments to the Confederacy. Among those whose legacies are coming under sharp review is Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the U.S., who served from 1913-21.
Continue to article: https://www.npr.org/2020/07/03/886537538/revisiting-sacred-cows-which-figures-from-history-do-we-honor-and-how
