Confederate monuments as history? Sure, but slavery is history, too.

“Another huge test for Confederate symbols,” Aug. 22 news story; and “What to do with monuments that evoke the darker sides of history,” Aug. 24 letters to the editor.

A resident of Georgia quoted in the article on Georgia’s Stone Mountain carvings of Confederate leaders said, “It’s part of history, and you shouldn’t just delete parts of history you don’t like.” Letterwriter David W. Beers said, “We cannot deny history.” I agree. My question is whether our children are really being taught the full story. How many monuments are there to honor the generations of people enslaved in America? How many children who see Confederate monuments are also taken by schools or parents to visit restored slave quarters or museums where the reality of slavery is presented? Glory in granite is one thing, the reality of enslavement is another. ●●●

“Soul-searching at ACLU over race,” Aug. 24 news story.

Regarding the “soul-searching” by the American Civil Liberties Union about how to manage the recent concerns over whether or not to remove or relocate Confederate monuments, here is a solution that would honor the freedom of speech of both the Confederate legacy and the legacy of slavery it fought to preserve:

For every Confederate monument, alongside it should be a monument or memorial to a lynching, slave auction, underground railroad passage, or to people harmed or killed during KKK cross-burnings. These events and people historically parallel the rise, defense and advancement of the politics, economy and culture of the Confederacy. Both legacies run concurrently and continue to intersect and crisscross in our debates about how to properly remember this conflicted shared history.

Having side-by-side visible reminders of both legacies would serve as useful historical markers while at the same time protecting the First Amendment rights of all citizens.