Before we left on a trip to New Orleans, I read Mitch Landrieu's book
In the Shadow of Statues about taking down the Lost Cause statues in that city. He described the statues as representing a stolen or perverse history. He was right.
Lee was many things, including a
harsh slave owner. He broke the Washington-Custis tradition and separated families. He inflicted physical punishments. He was described by one slave as "the worst man I ever see.”
When we were last there - was it really 15 years ago? - we did not give his statue a second thought when we took the trolley through the circle, out to Camelia Grill for pecan waffles. I had enough privilege to ignore it, but the meaning of the statue should not have been ignored. It took some dedicated work to show us a better way. I am glad that if my African-American granddaughter ever visits the city she will not have to walk under his gaze.
From New Orleans we went to Montgomery to visit the Equal Justice Initiative's Legacy Museum and their memorial for peace and justice- remembering the victims of lynching. We stopped at the Pettus Bridge in Selma, where John Lews and others were beaten while attempting to walk to Montgomery for voting rights. We visited tributes to Rosa Parks and the Freedom Riders. And we stood between statues of Jeff Davis and
James Sims on the steps of the Capital, where Dr. King had reminded us that it would not be long, because no lie can last forever.
There is the right side and wrong side of history. I have no problem with acknowledging the past, but that history is preserved in ways that go beyond statues. I prefer to honor those who stood for the right side.