Stefany Reed
Aug 23, 2017 · 2 min read

Thank you so much for sharing this. What fabulous examples you offer as a more accurate way “honor our history.” We should be memorializing the struggles of a people stolen from their continent and brought here in chains rather than the generals of the Confederate army.

Are there statues erected to honor Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman, and if not, why not? Why not more? This is our history. This is the history of the best of us. -The highest vision of the American dream- people overcoming seemingly insurmountable forces to inch our nation towards “liberty and justice for all.” It is perseverance and determination in the face of a systemic belief that we are “less than” because of some defining characteristic of our birth. “Honoring our history” looks like monuments erected to celebrate the very best of us- those who risked everything to free a few more people from bondage. The amazing women and men who escaped to freedom in the North and went back into the South under cover of darkness to lead a few more souls to a better life. These are our heroes! Ruby Bridges and Rosa Parks and so many others who wrote papers, spoke out, protested, and stood for what is right at the risk of their own lives.

May every statue of some White Confederate general come down. Let the metal be melted, pooled in the cleansing fire of renewal and reshaped to tell the truth. Let us honor our history- erect statues for Harriet Tubman and for Ruby Bridges. Build monuments for all the Black men beaten to death by their owners, all the Black women who bore the children of the White masters who raped them. Let us honor the Black men hung from trees for the color of their skin. Let us uplift the Black mothers who had their children ripped from their arms and sold to another slave owner. Let us honor our history, America. Let us remember the past. May our history be right in our faces, showing us how far we have come and how very far we still have to go.

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Stefany Reed

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Mama Wellness Coaching www.mamawellnesscoaching.com