Confederate Memorials by Alex Joyner

Transcription

1 Confederate Memorials by Alex Joyner volume 23, number 8 Shutterstock.com The removal of Confederate memorials in cities such as New Orleans has stirred significant controversy. What are the reasons for removing these memorials and for the controversy? How does our faith inform our response to these memorials and the history they represent? FaithLink is available by subscription via (subservices@abingdonpress.com) or by downloading it from the Web (www. cokesbury.com/faithlink). Print in either color or black and white. Copyright 2017 by Cokesbury. Please do not put FaithLink on your website for downloading. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. A Tale of Two Monuments On Memorial Day of this year, my small Virginia town dedicated a new monument honoring those who died in military service during the major wars of the 20th century the World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam. Atop the monument is a color photo of a young marine named Jerry Clark Burkhead. Burkhead was 20 years old in 1968 when he died fighting for control of a hill in the Vietnamese countryside. Flags for all the branches of the armed services surround the black granite monument. An empty chair reminds visitors of those who never returned and remain unaccounted for. We honor them with the memory of their sacrifice, says a quote on the memorial. May it never be forgotten. Across the street stands another monument to another war. This monument is much taller, with a stylized solider standing sentry like many other such monuments that were erected around the same time. It, too, is a reminder of sacrifice, but it s also more. Whereas the new memorial emphasizes the costs and virtue of military service, this other monument, like many others across the South, is a memorial to the Confederate cause. They fought for conscience sake and died for right, is inscribed upon its stone base. They died for the principles upon which all true republics are founded. In New Orleans and throughout the South, city governments are removing Confederate monuments. They argue that the version of history represented by these monuments no longer reflects the community s consensus about how to remember the Civil War. What does Christian faith have to say about how we remember such things? Why Are There No Slave Ship Monuments? On May 11 in the early morning darkness of New Orleans, workers clad in tactical vests and face masks dismantled 1

2 volume 23, number 8 Core Bible Passages The theme of memory is woven throughout Scripture. Following the Flood (Genesis 9:1-17), God establishes a covenant with Noah and with every living being to remind them that floodwaters will never again destroy all creatures (verse 15). The sign of the covenant is a rainbow, which serves as a reminder for God. God says, When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember the covenant (verse 14). In addition, God s people are regularly charged to remember their covenant with God. Deuteronomy 6:20-25 relates Moses command to teach future generations about the meaning of Israel s history. The Bible also offers several instances in which the same stories are told through very different lenses. For instance, the very troubling story of Jephthah s sacrifice of his daughter in Judges 11:29-40, as told in its original context, seems to be evidence for the continuing decline of Israel in the days before the kings. However, by the time of Hebrews 11:32, Jephthah is listed alongside David and Samuel in the roll call of the faithful. In another twist to Jephthah s story, his unnamed daughter, who asked for time to retreat with her friends before her death, began a memorial practice that continues in modern Israel. For four days each year, women retreat to remember her and tell her story. Copyright 2017 by Cokesbury. Permission given to copy pages 1 4 for use in a group setting. Please do not put FaithLink on your website for downloading. a monument to Confederate president Jefferson Davis that had stood atop its pedestal for 106 years. As the removal took place, police stood nearby separating groups with opposing views on the removal. The removal had been delayed by legal wrangling since 2015, following a city council vote to remove four public monuments. Three of the monuments celebrated Confederate figures like Davis. The fourth was an obelisk remembering the Battle of Liberty Place, an insurrection led by the Crescent City White League against the Reconstruction-era state government. In a speech explaining the city s actions, New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu stated, These statues are not just stone and metal. They are not just innocent remembrances of a benign history. These monuments purposefully celebrate a fictional, sanitized Confederacy; ignoring the death, ignoring the enslavement, and the terror that it actually stood for. Landrieu went on to question why there are no slave ship monuments, no prominent markers on public land to remember the lynchings or the slave blocks; nothing to remember this long chapter of our lives; the pain, the sacrifice, the shame... all of it happening on the soil of New Orleans. Backlash to the Removal Other city and state governments have taken similar actions to remove Confederate monuments and symbols from public areas. Following the June 2015 shooting at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston committed by a white supremacist, the state of South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from the State House grounds. However, there has also been backlash to these efforts. In Charlottesville, Virginia, a plan to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee spurred a torchlit rally to save the monument. B. Frank Earnest Sr., the heritage defense coordinator for the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Virginia, said, We should really honor the fact that we have statues of Robert E. Lee... who gave everything he owned to defend Virginia. Glenn Davis, a candidate for lieutenant governor in Virginia, then said that Lee was one of the most passionate Virginians that our commonwealth has ever had, and if someone wants to start taking down his monuments they need to start with his statue in the old House of Delegates chamber. And God help the person that tries. More Memory, Not Less Those who advocate for keeping the monuments often point to heritage and the sacrifice of the fallen as their defense, but there are other arguments for keeping at least some of these monuments. The first is practical removing the monuments is expensive. According to USA Today, Louisville spent $400,000 to move a seven-story Confederate memorial out of the city. Another argument poses more philosophical questions about society s historical progress. Does the simple removal of stones really move us to a new level of discussion and engagement? That s the easy part, but it s also functionally destructive. Where s the constructive counterpart? Who ll build the new monuments 2

3 volume 23, number 8 The Cult of the Lost Cause Many of the 1,500-plus Confederate-related memorials in the United States were erected during a period when white Southerners were trying to make sense of their past and reassert control following Reconstruction. An article written last year in The Atlantic documents how the first period of large-scale memorial construction began around the turn of the 20th century, just after Plessy v. Ferguson [which affirmed Jim Crow laws], and just as many Southern states were establishing repressive race laws. Around this same time, the so-called Lost Cause narrative gained prominence. Historian David Blights calls the Lost Cause narrative a cluster of ideas forged to help face defeat, construct a story of noble sacrifice for a holy cause of home and independence, and especially in the service of a racial ideology that would sustain white supremacy. At the heart of the Lost Cause was the claim that white Southerners never fought for slavery, but only for their home, hearth, and liberty. New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu referred to this idea as a cult in his speech defending the removal of Confederate monuments: This cult had one goal through monuments and through other means to rewrite history to hide the truth, which is that the Confederacy was on the wrong side of humanity. Copyright 2017 by Cokesbury. Permission given to copy pages 1 4 for use in a group setting. Please do not put FaithLink on your website for downloading. that we need to tell new stories about our past as Mayor Landrieu asked? Don t we need more memory rather than less? In an article for The Atlantic, historian David Blight writes, It is difficult for historians to favor monument destruction or removal. We worry endlessly about historical erasure or purposeful ignorance of any kind. We favor debate however conflicted, and new memorials that augment or change the narratives told on our public landscapes. Nevertheless, Blight says he welcomes the conversation that the removal controversy initiates. If this process makes Americans learn and think about our history more knowingly and reflectively, if painfully, it is all for the good. A Plural History in Scripture The Bible emphasizes the importance of memory. It also acknowledges that our history can be reclaimed in different ways. For instance, Exodus 20:8-11 explains the Sabbath commandment as a means to recall how God rested on the seventh day after Creation. Then, in Deuteronomy 5:12-15, the same commandment is grounded in the desire to remember Israel s slavery in Egypt. Additionally, the Bible often offers differing views of history. The narratives of 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings provide honest portraits of both Saul and David, warts and all, to emphasize what God can do even with fallible instruments. However, 1 and 2 Chronicles cover the same historical ground and highlight themes of faithfulness. They leave out more difficult scenes such as David s sin with Bathsheba. Both versions of the story are useful in proper context. But God also knows we have a tendency to manipulate old stories to suit our ends. John the Baptist warned those who came out to the wilderness not to rely on their family lineage as a source of salvation. I tell you that God is able to raise up Abraham s children from these stones, he said in Matthew 3:9, emphasizing that God can always begin new stories. No Finished History There s one final feature of biblical history and narrative that sheds light on how Christians might view the Confederate memorial controversies: The story of the Bible, the story of God in history, is incomplete. All the stories of Scripture are placed within the larger timeline of God s redemption through Christ and the final redemption of all things. There are no finished histories, even when we try to inscribe those histories in stone. Wrestling with our history, particularly in the case of the Confederacy and slavery, is painful precisely because the monuments attempt to give meaning to that sad chapter of our story, but there s also so much left unsaid. These monuments neglect the ugly things: the horrors of war, the senseless suffering of slavery, and the continuing ideology of white supremacy. A movement is underway in my county to erect another monument. This one would memorialize the black residents who fought 3

4 volume 23, number 8 Crayon Rubbings and Historical Memory Longwood University professor and photographer Michael Mergen has a fascination with how historical events linger in our memory. Living near Appomattox Courthouse, where the Civil War officially ended, he s worked to develop a project based on the historical markers that dot the local roadways. To highlight the way the landscape of these places has changed through the years, Mergen takes photos of the places where historical events happened and then, using crayon rubbings, overlays the words of the historical signs explaining those events. I was interested in this collision of history and contemporary landscape, to get at the idea that these signs are speaking or pointing to something that is gone, Mergen said in a recent interview. In some of the ones where the landscape feels more contemporary... you re photographing the parking lot of a Walgreens [and] you have an advertisement for Walgreens sale on potato chips... colliding, literally, with a description of Lee giving the order to retreat. Mergen did a companion series on scenes from the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. Both series invite the viewer to consider what lasting impact the events have had. The challenge is always how do you let the viewer in on the idea without relying exclusively on the text? Mergen asked. Copyright 2017 by Cokesbury. Permission given to copy pages 1 4 for use in a group setting. Please do not put FaithLink on your website for downloading. for the North in the Civil War. It will make an interesting contrast to the other two memorials on our main street. No doubt it will be an uncomfortable tension. After all, the Confederate memorial says, They... died for right. If the new monument says the same, then we ve got to have a discussion. United Methodist Perspective In recent years, The United Methodist Church has begun to grapple with painful parts of its own denominational history. At the 2000 General Conference, in an Act of Repentance for Reconciliation, delegates acknowledged the racism that led many African Americans to leave the denomination throughout history. The creation of The African Methodist Episcopal Church was the result of one of those ruptures. The 2004 General Conference recognized those African American members who stayed, even through the period when most African American churches were placed in a segregated Central Jurisdiction. The Central Jurisdiction was dissolved in Bishop Peter Weaver said at the time, As with many marginalized groups in majority societies, the majority society writes its history through its own lens and through its own eyes, and the richness of the history of other persons in those communities or cultures is often lost. In 2016, the General Conference heard a report on Methodist involvement in the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre in which a Methodist Episcopal Church pastor in the Union Army led a vicious attack on a Cheyenne and Arapaho camp. Bishop Elaine J. W. Stanovsky said, We re here to listen and to tell the truth about this history. Standing with Native American descendants, historian David Roberts, the report s author, said, Listen, learn and do not forget. Helpful Links The document Remembering the Sand Creek Massacre: A Historical Review of Methodist Involvement, Influence, and Response, which was prepared for General Conference 2016, can be downloaded at An overview of Confederate memorial controversies can be found on USA Today s website at For an example of photographer Michael Mergen s crayon rubbings, go to Alex Joyner is the district superintendent of the Eastern Shore District of the Virginia Conference. FaithLink: Connecting Faith and Life is a weekly, topical study and an official resource for The United Methodist Church approved by Discipleship Ministries and published weekly by Cokesbury, The United Methodist Publishing House, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., P.O. Box , Nashville, TN Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from the Common English Bible, copyrighted 2011 Common English Bible, and are used by permission. Permission is granted to photocopy pages 1 4 of this resource for use in FaithLink study groups. All Web addresses were correct and operational at the time of publication. Fax comments to FaithLink, , or send to faithlinkgroup@umpublishing.org. For fax problems, fax FREE to For problems, send to Cokes_Serv@umpublishing.org. To order, call , or visit our website at 4

5 volume 23 number 8 volume 23 number 8 Confederate Memorials How does our faith inform our response to Confederate memorials and the history they represent? CREATE Your Teaching Plan Keeping in mind your group members and your group time, choose from among the OPEN, EXPLORE, and CLOSE activities or from Teaching Alternative to plan the session. Copyright 2017 by Cokesbury. OPEN the Session Remember Biblical Memorials Invite participants to recall stories in the Bible where people built memorials or named a place of special significance. Some possible responses are Noah s altar in Genesis 8 and Samuel setting up a stone in 1 Samuel 7:12. Write the responses on a large sheet of paper visible to the group. Write across the page in big letters, How are we to remember? EXPLORE the Topic Describe a Memorial Read the essay A Tale of Two Monuments. Ask group members to describe a well-known monument in your town. If your town has a Confederate monument, use that one. Ask: What do you remember about it? How does it make you feel? What do you imagine motivated our town to erect this monument? Discuss the Removal of Monuments in New Orleans Analyze Why Are There No Slave Ship Monuments? Imagine you live in New Orleans. Ask: How would you feel about the large Confederate monuments in the city? Where would you be during the removal? In the crowd supporting the removals? opposing them? sleeping in? How is your faith related to your response? Debate the Monument Removal Read Backlash to the Removal and More Memory, Not Less. Imagine that your town or city had a very prominent memorial to the Confederacy and the local government had proposed to have it removed. Form three teams, and assign each a viewpoint. Have one team consider arguments for removal, another investigate why the memorial should stay put, and a third argue for providing context to the memorial (such as additional art or explanatory material). After some time preparing, give each team three minutes to make a case. Wrestle with A Plural History in Scripture Summarize A Plural History in Scripture. The story of David told in 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings is different than the one told in 1 and 2 Chronicles. Ask: Why do you think that difference exists? What does it mean for the way we understand issues like the Confederate memorial controversy? Consider Unfinished History Read No Finished History. Our faith tells us that God is working for the redemption of all of creation. Ask: How would the redemption of creation look in reference to issues of slavery and race? How can we remember painful and harmful moments from the past in the knowledge that all of creation will be redeemed? How is this a challenge to the ways we would prefer to interact with history? 5

6 Study Scripture Together Investigate Core Bible Passages. The story of Jephthah s daughter in Judges 11:29-40 comes in the middle of a book in which God s people, Israel, seem to be growing more and more forgetful of God s commands. Despite clear prohibitions against sacrificing children (Leviticus 18:21), Jephthah goes through with this horrific act because he s compelled by the rash vow he s made. Ask: Given that Hebrews 11:32 lists Jephthah among the great figures of the Old Testament, how do we remember this story? Which memory that of Jephthah or his daughter is more powerful to you? Why? Unpack The Cult of the Lost Cause Look through the section The Cult of the Lost Cause. Ask: Have you heard of this term before? How have you heard it used? Imagine that you lived in the South during the time of Reconstruction. Ask: What is the power of an alternative narrative or an alternative history? Why does Mayor Mitch Landrieu describe it as a cult? Examine United Methodist Perspectives Reflect on United Methodist Perspective. In this section, we see three times when the church has highlighted painful parts of its history regarding race. Ask: What does it mean that the church is repenting of these acts? Does the church need to take additional steps to atone for its past positions? What would they be? How can the church s example provide a template for considering the controversy surrounding Confederate memorials? Reflect on Crayon Rubbings and Historical Memory Reflect on Crayon Rubbings and Historical Memory. Ask: What was your first impression upon hearing of this project? How would one of these crayon rubbings help you understand history better? What is the importance of remembering these events in this way? CLOSE the Session Pray Together Pray the following prayer or one of your own: We remember, faithful God, That you have been our guide when our path was unclear. We remember That you have come among us and lived as bone of our bone. We remember That you have promised to come again. And we remember That you remember your people. And so we rejoice and give thanks. Amen. volume 23, number 8 Teaching Alternative Take a Field Trip to a Monument As a group, travel to a monument or memorial in your town. If your town has a Confederate memorial, visit that one. Have participants walk around the monument in silence, inviting each person to note interesting features. Ask: What do the words say? What are the characteristics of the artwork? What does its size and placement in the town suggest? How does it make you feel? What does it not say? What other parts of the history it describes would you wish had been included? If your group was going to erect an additional monument, what would it look like? Whose story would it tell? Using some of the Scriptures mentioned in this essay, ask what sort of things God asks people to remember. Next Week in Artificial Intelligence Recent achievements by gameplaying computers highlight the continued development of artificial intelligence (AI). What is AI? What impact could AI have on the way we live? How does our faith help us engage with AI? Copyright 2017 by Cokesbury. 6