Reporting Trip: Confederate Monument, Athens, GA

I went to where the confederate monument was taken down in between campus and downtown Athens. Located on Broad Street, the confederate monument was removed this past summer in 2020. This removal has both many supporters and many opposers. The day was really rainy, cold, and dreary. I could hear the cars pass by and the water swoosh under the tires. Everyone who was around this area seemed to be walking with a purpose and paid no attention to where the monument stood. The monument that once glorified a harmful past doesn’t urge the passerby to look up. It’s almost as if it was never there.

I spoke to three people who came from very different places of life. Two out of the three interviews were in support of the monument removal. On the other hand, the other interviewee, in a small amount of words, was in opposition of the removal.

To quote him, “I think it’s bullshit.” He then walked away.

I learned from the other two interviews that the removal helps end the glorification of a harmful past of the confederacy and slavery. The removal moves to rewrite the narration of glorifying to learning. To summarize one of the passersby, it’s not about forgetting the past but remembering and learning from America’s mistakes.

In place of the monument, there are plaques on the ground that are only noticeable if the passerby stops in the middle of the street and looks. It’s almost as if people are not supposed to stop and look. As I was standing there and learning, the cars and people that drove and walked by looked at me as if I were doing something wrong. Because the plaques are in the middle of the crosswalk on an island, one doesn’t have time to really look because you have to quickly walk across the street or else you will be stuck there until the next walking sign.