Williamson should allow marker next to monument
The tragic violence that occurred with white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, has shaken again our nation’s moral conscience about our struggle to overcome hatred, bigotry and racism.
Cities all over the South are finally coming to terms with the symbols of the Confederacy that have long been given places of honor. We must wonder how long it will be before there is a loud cry for the removal of our own local Confederate monument that stands outside the Williamson County Courthouse.
My experience promoting the idea of having a contextual historical marker placed next to the monument suggests that many in our community would prefer to ignore or deny any association of our Confederate monument with the legacy of slavery, white supremacy and racial discrimination.
Those of us who have tried to come to terms with this racist past often hear that Georgetown is an exceptional community that is devoid of racism and racial discrimination. Many of us involved with Courageous Conversations Georgetown know this is not the case. Our organization’s interfaith, interracial conversations about racism, discrimination and injustices have revealed that people of color in this community continue to experience — in overt, subtle and institutional ways — the scourge of white supremacy plaguing.
Two years ago, a group of us in Courageous Conversations attempted to get our public leaders to recognize the racist history connected to our local Confederate monument. We were not suggesting that our Confederate monument in Georgetown should be destroyed or even removed from its public location. We believe that this monument is part of our history, as ugly as some of that history may be. So, following the lead of the Atlanta History Center, we suggested that this Confederate monument needed to be contextualized with a historical marker that told the truth about its history.
Our Cultural and Historical Advocacy Team prepared an application last year to submit to the Texas Historical Commission (THC) for a historical marker to be placed next to the Confederate monument. We documented the history of the Confederate monument that was erected on the courthouse lawn in 1916.
In essence, we wanted to ask the THC to develop a contextual marker that would explain the racist history of this monument and to affirm that it no longer reflects our values today. As with all historical markers in Texas, the THC would determine the merits of such a historical marker and their historians would develop the text for the marker. Last November, our group asked the Williamson County Commissioners Court simply to give permission for such a marker to be installed next to the Confederate monument, should the THC approve our application. Regrettably, the Commissioners Court declined to give that permission. The commissioners said a marker was too controversial and lacked broad public support.
In view of the national attention that white supremacists have drawn to Confederate monuments, it may be difficult for communities like ours to keep ignoring the implied racism in our own monument. Many now concur with the perspective of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which says “the argument that the Confederate flag and other displays represent “heritage, not hate” ignores the near-universal heritage of African-Americans whose ancestors were enslaved by the millions in the South. It trivializes their pain, their history and their concerns about racism — whether it’s the racism of the past or that of today.”
This fall, we will again appeal to the Commissioners Court for permission to place a contextual historical marker next to the Confederate monument, contingent upon the THC’s authorization. We hope our civic leaders will have the moral courage and political will to acknowledge the need.
As someone who was born and raised in the deep South, I have learned that confessing my own racist past has been a critical step for my recovery from inherited racism. The same is probably true for communities. I urge all residents of Williamson County to encourage our civic leaders to deal constructively with the racist past that is imbedded in our own Confederate monument.