On Confederates and Their Monuments

D. Elisabeth Glassco
5 min readJul 7, 2022
Jim Bowen, Stone Mountain Carving, Flickr

In a February 3, 2022 article, CNN reported that in 2021, “73 Confederate monuments were removed or renamed” in the United States, leaving 723 left.

The article was based on a report, “Whose Heritage,” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. This report, according to the draft, goes toward “eradicating hate and white supremacy” in collaboration with activists nationwide.

https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/whose-heritage-report-third-edition.pdf

To those who rejoice at this long overdue historical reckoning, don’t break out the champagne yet. The lost cause (and the neo-lost cause animating the January 6 insurrection) is still percolating. It hasn’t survived over a century by its proponents being meek and mild or short on strategy. All over the America, the battle of the monuments rages on — -facts vs lies and who controls history rages undimmed.

Kevin Seefried, a Jan. 6 rioter walking through the U.S. Capitol with a Confederate flag, an historic first. Saul Loeb? AP via Getty Images.

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D. Elisabeth Glassco

A native of of the great state of Mississippi and proud resident of New Jersey. Lecturer and Doctoral candidate in Media, Race, Class, and Politics @Rutgers.