NEW MONUMENTS NOW 2018 MOVEMENT FOR WHATS NEXT AFTER CONFEDERATE TAKE DOWN?

NEW Visions of inclusion and human rights monuments to replace Confederate ones?

Throughout 2017 one of the major focus’ of the news were the Confederate monuments all 1500 of them across the United States as symbols of hate and oppression for all, Afro Americans, Women, Hispanics, all minorities. Yet the story has just begun and already Major news outlets such as the Guardian have begun publishing articles on the new monuments of inclusion and human rights. On December 17, 2017 Nadja Sayej Guardian Culture writer addressed how cities are staring to look at the empty places left and Visionary ideas for what can inspire and replace the vacuum left.

In a New York Times — article “America Needs a National Slavery Monument” by Blain Roberts & Ethan J. Kytle, the Times article states, “There are no Anti-slavery monuments anywhere in the U.S., why? This article looks at a tragic and darker destructive avoidance of human rights in America, feeding such a vast denial of equality in any form or for any group being victimized.

Yet it is also possible to hope for our collective future and the power that monuments have over and on us. Monuments are symbols which represent a societies ideals, purpose and have sadly been perverted for so long to inspire hatred of one kind or another, or deny injustices.

One such example is the proposed U.S. National Anti-slavery, anti-human trafficking monument sculpture and project by artist Paul-Felix Montez. His quote from the Guardian article:

“One of America’s first anti-slavery monuments is also in the works, a proposed steel monument by California sculptor Paul-Felix Montez, who has designed a pair of giant vertical chain link the upper one broken apart. It’s expected to face the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington but could easily be installed in any major U.S. city and then filed for national monument status.
“Everywhere I looked, there were endless war monuments, but how many are for peace and how many stand for basic human rights?” asks the artist. “That was my start of this effort.”

Since the Guardian articles publication, a #NewMonumentsNow social media movement has begun, connecting itself to #TimesUp, #Metoo, #Blacklivesmatter, #Decolonizethisplace and many more from the resistance movements nationwide as well as groups more conservative but none the less concerned about Human rights and the vast injustices our country has taken and are unsustainable.

The door has opened all across our cultural landscape about the injustices and abuses of power, the marginalization of over half the entire population of the country, for the sake of profiteering, cruelty and senseless inhuman practices. The actions being taken, address every aspect of life and the value of any one human being, across all class lines. It is also the tragic loss of Heather Heyer to Neo Nazi racism that drives home this vast need to face the insanity we call “denial of equality”.

There is much all of us can do, but all these movements working together ultimately will shape a new American set of values, a new dignity for each every citizen, the numbers for change and humanity far outstrip those who cowardly run and hide, against it. Become part of the greatest and most powerful collective voices America has ever seen or heard, in that way what we do, hear, see, participate will be a vital, alive and distributed democracy willing to face its worst, build monuments to human rights of dignity, listen and act, to deal with all of those long pushed aside and yet completely exploited. Be the greater good, simply speak out and let your social media, voice, and more inspire a society of “We the people” all people.

To fully see support #NEWmonumentsNOW : http://antislaverymonument.org