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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (May 3, 2017)
Page 10 The Skanner May 3, 2017 News New Orleans Begins Removing Racist Confederate Monuments A gainst a backdrop of death threats and under the cover of night, officials in New Orleans have begun to dismantle Con- federate monuments honoring racists of the Civil War and Jim Crow eras of United States history. Workers removing the first of four monuments wore bulletproof vests, helmets and hid their faces. By 5:45 a.m. on April 24, the monument was gone. Three more monuments are set to disappear, but the city is not an- nouncing publicly which statues will be next and what date the removals will take place. “The removal of these statues sends a clear and unequivocal message to the people of New Orleans and the nation: New Orleans celebrates our diversity, inclusion and tolerance,” said New Or- leans Mayor Mitch Landrieu in a state- ment on April 24. “ ‘We can remember these divisive chap- ters in our history in a museum or other facility where they can be put in context’ At a press conference the morning after the first monument, the Battle of Liberty Place Memorial, was removed, the Mayor stated that the other monu- ments would be removed, “sooner rath- er than later.” “Relocating these Confederate mon- uments is not about taking something away from someone else. This is not about politics, blame or retaliation. This is not a naïve quest to solve all our FARM SECURITY ADMINISTRATION/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire Contributor Inscription on “Battle of Liberty Place” monument, 1936, as photographed by Dorothea Lange. problems at once,” the Mayor said. “This is about showing the whole world that we as a city and as a people are able to acknowledge, understand, reconcile— and most importantly—choose a better future. We can remember these divi- sive chapters in our history in a muse- um or other facility where they can be put in context—and that’s where these statues belong.” The Liberty Place Monument cele- brated an 1874 insurrection of a group of all-White, mostly Confederate vet- erans calling themselves the Crescent City White League. The group fought against the racially integrated New Or- leans Metropolitan Police. The monu- ment honored members of the Crescent City White League who died during the battle. In 1932, a plaque was added to put an even finer point on the racist mo- tivations behind the monument. The plaque in part read that the battle was fought to “overthrow of carpetbag gov- ernment, ousting the usurpers” and that “the national election of November 1876 recognized white supremacy in the South and gave us our state.” According to The New York Times, ful part of our history,” wrote one com- menter on Twitter. Much social media discussion dealt with the issue of whether negative parts of American history should be commemorated. “When are we gonna put up some Hitler statues, ya know, to remind us of those dark times in History?” another Twitter user stated. Others debated the role of poor White southerners who participated in the Civil War. “It was the North who refused to recognize blacks as people, resulting in the appalling 3/5 compromise. The South obv wanted,” wrote Erin Greer of Atlanta on Twitter. A Twitter user, who identified him- self as Clayton Barnes, responded: “And the South just wanted to own them, treat them terribly, and work them like mules.” Lauren Victoria Burke is a political an- alyst who speaks on politics and African American leadership. She is also a fre- quent contributor to the NNPA Newswire and BlackPressUSA.com. “In 1993, the City Council voted to remove the obelisk, but instead the plaque was covered with a new one that read: ‘In honor of those Americans on both sides who died in the Battle of Lib- erty Place’ and called it ‘a conflict of the past that should teach us lessons for the future.’” The reactions on social media to the monument’s removal were quite ani- mated. “It is more nuanced OSU Campus Roof Replacement 2017 than that. One can sup- Corvallis, OR 97331 port keeping the statues for accuracy...as a histor- Bid Date: May 16th, 2017, 12:00PM ical reminder of a shame- Construction starts June 17th, 2017 & ends Sep- SUB-BIDS REQUESTED tember 15th, 2017 Community Business Directory Roof replacement for OSU ALS and OSU Cordley Halls. Scope packages include Lightweight Con- crete, Rough Carpentry, Fall Protection, Railings, Sheet Metal, Roofing, Plumbing, HVAC and Elec- trical. INSURANCE 1705 SW Taylor Street, Suite 200 Portland OR 97205 Contact accepting bids: Ryan Lujan Ryan.Lujan@fortisconstruction.com Phone: 503-459-4477 Fax: 503-459-4478 OR CCB#155766 Bid documents are available for review at the local plan centers and the Fortis Public Plan Room: http:// fortisconstruction.com/contact#subcontractors We are an equal opportunity employer and request sub bids from minority, women, disadvantaged, and emerging small business enterprises. 5-3-17
