Removing History From Its Pedestal: On Taking Down The Statues In Academy Green
“People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them”- James Baldwin
I have to admit that I’ve been hesitant to weigh in on the debate about the removal of the statutes of Peter Stuyvesant, Gov. George Clinton and Henry Hudson in Kingston’s Academy Green Park. Yes, it’s time for change. Perhaps, long past time to remove these relics which idolize those who colonized and terrorized. But, I would be lying if I didn’t say I feel a tinge of apprehension.
As an undergrad I majored in history and political science, so I stopped romanticizing historical figures long ago. History is fluid, almost nothing is set in stone…or bronze, for that matter, and in many cases it was written by literate, privileged white males who altered events to their advantage. However, the field is evolving from one that was used to venerate people, events and ideas that maintained the racial and socioeconomic status quo, towards one that recognizes it can almost never be complete — and the voices of the oppressed must be included.
Early on, when I thought I’d like to be a historian, I worked at the Senate House State Historic Site in Uptown Kingston. I spent hours in the archives transcribing the fragile letters from the Van Gaasbeck’s, John Vanderlyn, and others. Trust me, when I say that doing that helped take away some of the romanticism and mystique about the settlement of our area. I learned who was fighting with whom, who was suffering from what ailment and what some of these “historical figures’’ actually thought about one another. But, I also learned about the African-Americans who were integral to communication during the American Revolution, including the “Negress spy” held captive on a British ship on the Rondout Creek; The Quaker brothers (The Ketchams) who went to fight during the Civil War to end slavery, only for one to end up discovering the other killed, under a tree, on the battlefield; the 120th Regiment which, along with the 20th Colored Infantry, were some of the first to muster and fight for the Union.
Given our complex history, Academy Green could and should be used to help orient and interpret for visitors, residents and future generations Kingston and Ulster County’s REAL history. Maybe the statues do not need to be removed, just taken down from their pedestals and placed in their true context, so people can learn about the first peoples who lived here and the enslaved African- Americans who toiled here. A great example of this is the, Women Right’s National Historic Site at Seneca Falls, which weaves in the irony that many of the women who signed the Declaration of Sentiments did not want to see African-American men or women get the right to vote before they did.
I hold this position as someone who has a pretty good reason to tear down one of the statues herself. See, growing up, there were always rumors of a “sea captain’’ in our family. I thought the stories that had been passed down through our family were misinterpreted or something got lost along the way. Perhaps the “Sea Captain’’ was really a fisherman? Every February, when I suddenly renewed my Ancestry.com subscription, that should really be free for African Americans, (you’re really charging for slave schedules?) I hoped to find the “sea captain”. Maybe he was part of the long history of Black fishermen near the Chesapeake Bay? Or perhaps the Carolinas’?
As I followed my genealogy back to Georgia, the surname “Hudson” began to emerge. Research revealed that my third great-grandfather, Perry Hudson had purchased the freedom of his entire family, helped found one of the first all Black towns in Georgia following slavery, owned 602 acres and his own farm and mill.
Tracing the land, I found it was willed to him by a white slaveowner. While it was not unusual for slaveowners to leave former slaves land and also give them their freedom, what was unusual was the amount of land left, and that in his will he stated his land should be divided equally among “his children”. “That man” (not naming him ’cause I’m still processing some things) was the 6th great-nephew of Henry Hudson (through his brother William, who’s son Richard immigrated to Virginia). Meaning, good ‘ole Henry is my 12th great-uncle (though not by choice).
Knowing my family’s history, I have rather enjoyed the brief “family reunions” every other Wednesday at the Walk 4 Black Lives, protesting right in front of Henry et al. Bringing us full circle to James Baldwin’s above quote; Statues and monuments are tangible reflections of the society that shaped them, the racism and colonialism that are trapped within them are still rampant within our society, it’s the language and method of delivery that have changed. We are at a moment in history where we can continue to be “trapped” by the illusion of equality, or do the deep work required to root out systemic racism in all our social institutions.
The history of our country, and particularly the Hudson Valley, is interconnected within all of us, but it is also complex. So much so, that an African-American woman, helping to organize a protest for Black Lives, can do so right in front of the statue of a man whose descendants enslaved her family. What is the lesson here? Simply that the arc of history is long and we should help bend it toward the truth. We can do this by including the voices of the unheard and, though unpleasant, we need to include both the good and the bad.
