Should we continue to keep monuments of those who have wronged this country? NO.
Stone mountain is a mountain in Georgia that displays Confederate leaders at a 90 x 190 feet being one of the biggest Confederate monuments. The carving are Confederate Civil War leaders which despics the president of the Confederate States, Jeffereon Davis, with General E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson both riding their horses with their hats over their hearts being displayed as “American” heroes.
Mount Rushmore is also a mountain with carving on it, but this one instead of Confederate leaders it depicts four Presidents chosen by the creator, Gutzon Borglum, because he believed that these people had the most impact in American history. These presidents are George Washington (the first United States president), Thomas Jefferson (the primary author of the Declaration of Independence), Theordore Roosevelt as stated by Borglum for his guidance of America’s wealth when there was a large economic growth, and Abraham Lincoln (signed the Emancipation Proclamation).
There continues to be massive protests against the system of oppression and injustice in America. People have turned to monuments and the protest for the removal of them have increased especially following the death of George Floyd. The reason why these monuments for the Confederates were originally created were to hide the real reason why the South seceded and form the Confederate States of America – slavery. Instead these monuments as the Stone Mountain continue to exist to celebrate racism. People who were seen as American traitors that were then praised and apperictated after the fight of the war for their contribution, how does that make sense? Stone mountain continues to have its protest and controversies to this current date. While there have been proposed changes, such as “telling the truth”, changing how the Confederate leaders are portrayed, and constant discussion on what the monuments represent.
For Mount Rushmore, there continues to be this talk about it being indigenous lands,
In 2020 different Native tribes blocked Mount Rushmore in South Dakota from being accessed due to the argument of stolen land. There is a long history between the Lakota people that originally lived in these lands first and the U.S. government creating false promises through treaties and breaking them once gold was discovered in the Blacks Hills region of the mountain. In the 1920’s the Lakota sued the U.S. government for land theft, which they were given about $17.1 million dollars , but they continued to push for their land.
I continue to have the same stance as I did when talking about the Gettysburg Confederate Monuments on a previous blog, we should stop praising racist. While monuments are a great way to resemble history and the events from the past, there are some monuments that should not exist. Stone mountain is a great example of a monument that tries to glorify the history of Confederate soldiers as some sort of heros and that is why the main Confederate leaders were made as a monument. The south did not secede from the north because they only wanted to protect their “states’ rights” as said by those trying to minimize the true factors, but the system of slavery as well. The south knew that without slavery their economy would plumit because it contributed to a huge protion of the Sothern economy.
In 2019, Georgia did pass a law that protects Confederate monuments from being removed by both officials and anyone. However, that does not mean the discussion of the tear down of the Confederate monuments should cease. Unlike the Confederate statues the carving in Stone mountain can not be removed as easily and preserved at a museum. So, what could be potential ways to stop praising the monument? For starters, there should be a removal of the Confederate flags through the mountain trail. From one google search pictures could be seen Confederate flags in the background. Additionally, transparency should be a key factor in trying to minimize the white supremacy ideology that Stone Mountain holds. Having markers or exhibits throughout the state park that could potentially teach people about the true history of the Civil War and how the Stone Mountain came to be after the Civil War. And while there are counterarguments to that there is some historical relationship between sons of Confederate soldiers, or that the monuments should be completely ignored and that people should go elsewhere if they do not want to see the monument, these are the same people that continue to fight for the continuing and reinforcement of old ideologies for the praise that they give to these ‘evil’ leaders.