The South & Hurt Feelings
One of the main reasons I advocate for the removal of Confederate monuments and statues is because it’s deeply disrespectful to those of us who are descendants of slaves. It’s hurtful to see a celebration of the people who sought to silence my voice and ensure that I labored in chains.
But what happens when the descendant of a Confederate soldier says their feelings are hurt by the removal of these monuments? Whose feelings matter more?

Here’s the thing: I’d argue that the purpose of the Confederate momuments isn’t to celebrate those who gave their lives in defense of states’ rights (to own slaves) at all. The statues were manufactured cheaply, put up quickly, with a majority going up during times with increased civil rights activism. If they’re meant to celebrate these soldiers, it’s pretty shitty that they’re made of the cheapest material available at the time. It’s also pretty shitty that the country waited so many years to decide to celebrate your ancestors.
But let’s say that these monuments are important to you. Let’s say that you don’t care when they went up, or how cheaply they were built. An honor is an honor, right?
I’m biracial, so I have relatives who fought for the Confederacy in my family. I also have ancestors who were slaves. Guess which ones I’d rather celebrate.
There are no significant celebrations of my Black ancestors. In fact, I have no idea which part of Africa my family came from. I don’t get to celebrate much of anything from that side of my family, simply because that history was stolen by the side of my family who fought to preserve their right to force my other family to do their work for them.
I have no desire to celebrate my Confederate ancestors. I would imagine that folks who are related to Hitler would prefer to keep that under wraps too. But even if you DO want to celebrate your problematic ancestors, are monuments in public places the best way to do that? How often do you visit them? How does it make you feel when you see them?
Half of my family oppressed the other half. That is not something I want to celebrate. That’s not a history I’ll forget after the statues are gone. I still have plenty of family papers, history books, and pictures that ensure my white family’s history won’t be forgotten.
I have nothing from Black family because my white family stole it from me. I have no history, apart from the knowledge that my ancestors were treated worse than dogs, then emancipated only to be lynched or threatened when they demanded to be treated like citizens.
If your feelings are hurt because people are taking down statues you never visit of your ancestors who shouldn’t have been celebrated in the first place, then you need to examine why your feelings are really hurt. Because what you’re asking for is for the country to commemorate the worst mistake you ever made in the form of a public monument. Why would you want to celebrate the worst parts of yourself? What kind of person does that make you?

