A welcome discussion on the Confederacy
If you’ve been to the state Capitol you’ve probably seen it. The Confederate Soldiers monument is one of the first things that greets visitors coming through the southern entrance. Also known as the Confederate dead monument, it features four bronze statues representing the branches of the Confederate military, while a figure of Jefferson Davis towers over all.
Words etched in the granite base — about how the South, “animated by the spirit of 1776,” decided to secede — exalt the Confederate fighters who “died for states’ rights guaranteed under the Constitution.”
This means that standing in a place of honor since it was erected in 1903 — in the heart of Texas — there is a memorial that’s topped by a traitor to the United States and based on a lie.
Perhaps one day soon, Texas lawmakers can honestly discuss what it means to have monuments that celebrate the Confederacy, and which perpetuate the false claim that it was anything other than the preservation of slavery that was at the heart of the Civil War. When they do, they’ll finally understand that it’s not history critics of the memorials are contesting, but rather the contemporary judgments we make about which historic figures should be honored, and which should instead simply be studied in textbooks, museums and other appropriate settings.
Until then, we welcome Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s recent announcement that he has formed a bipartisan committee to review the artwork in the state Senate, which includes a painting of Davis and of Confederate general Albert Sidney Johnston. At least it’s a start.
To his credit, Patrick was following up on a promise he made earlier this year during the debate of a bill that would have made it difficult to remove Confederate monuments in Texas.
Introduced by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, SB 1663 would have required two-thirds of legislators from both chambers to approve any removal, relocation or alteration of monuments or memorials that had been on state property for more than 25 years. Monuments on city or county property could be removed, relocated or altered only through approval of a super-majority of local governing boards.
The bill died in the House, but on its way to being approved by the Senate on a party-line vote, Patrick pledged that he would appoint a committee to study the artwork after the senate’s two black members — Houston’s Borris Miles and Dallas’ Royce West — pointed out the Confederate portraits.
Those who defend Confederate monuments vest themselves as guardians of history and cast opponents as those who would erase the past.
“Our history is part of who we are and part of the story of Texas, but history is never just one person’s account,” Creighton said of his bill. “We’ve seen a trend across the nation and the world where controversial monuments are removed or destroyed, often without any input, study or process. I fear that we’ll look back and regret that this was a period where deleting history was more important than learning from it.”
Creighton is wrong. Tearing down marble and granite and bronze cannot “delete history” any more than it can erase the stain of slavery. Neither can taking down a painting or two. Understanding history means studying all sides of events, especially ones so critical to the forming of the modern United States as the
Civil War. But understanding all sides is not the same as honoring all sides. It is a fundamental error in judgment to honor individuals whose sole claim to fame was taking up arms against the United States to safeguard a brutal system of racist exploitation. Davis, who served as president of the Confederate States of America, is one such figure, and in 2019 he deserves to be understood but certainly not honored as a hero.
Even if, as some believe, Patrick’s committee was created to diffuse controversy rather than promote real change, the group’s seven members — which include Houston Sens. Miles and Paul Bettencourt — must take their job seriously and begin a much-needed course correction.
The Civil War will always be a part of our past, but Texas has plenty of other history we can celebrate. Plenty of heroes — men and women; all colors and creeds — whom, while fallible, we can admire and respect.
They are the ones who belong in the public square, on our walls, in our parks and our schools.
The time of honoring the Confederacy is over.