Page 9 - September 2017

Fifteen minutes after a state of emergency was declared by Virginia’s governor, Dre Harris, a young black man who was among the dispersing crowds, was rushed by a group of white supremacists. He and his friends were chased into a parking garage where he was beaten by alt right protesters. They used the sticks and shields they had carried through the city to put Mr. Harris in the hospital.
Following the incident, President Donald Trump’s Twitter account was uncharacteristically quiet. On Sunday night, Governor Ducey finally responded via his own Twitter account, now that it’s an acceptable way to govern. At just after 10PM on August 13, the governor tweeted “i categorically 100% condemn neo-nazi, KKK, Klan, race/white supremacy groups and the violence and hate they preach. no place 4 it in #AZ or America.” Some felt his response was a bit late.
President Trump waited even longer to comment on the Charlottesville tragedy and, when he did, he met with backlash after saying the violence was “on many sides.” On Monday, August 14, the president finally made a statement calling out the alt right groups that par- ticipated in the Charlottesville violence. He told reporters at the White House, “Racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo- Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.” The same day, Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas was asked whether one side was more responsible for the violence than the other. “This was an alt right rally,” he responded.
The following day, the president backpedaled, reverting back to his “many sides” com- ment. Members of the press encountered the president at what was supposed to be a routine event at Trump Tower and pressed him on his handling of Charlottesville. The im- promptu meeting quickly derailed as the unscripted Commander in Chief reacted angrily to reporter questions.
“You had a group on one side that was bad,” Mr. Trump stated, “And you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that. But I’ll say it right now. What about the alt-left that came charging at the, as you say, alt-right? Do they have any semblance of guilt?”
“I think there is blame on both sides,” he continued. He argued that the alt right protesters contained some “bad people” but, on both sides, there were “very fine people.” He excused his initially delayed response stating that he wanted “all the facts” first.
Mr. Trump defended the presence of Confederate monuments likening them to those honoring other national historical figures. “This week it’s Robert E. Lee,” he said. “I noticed that Stonewall Jackson’s coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You’re changing history. You’re changing culture. And you had people, and I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally. But you had many people in that group other than neo- Nazis and white nationalists.” He later tweeted “Sad to see the history and culture of our great nation being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments.”
Following the president’s August 15 statements, alt right leaders praised him for his sup- port. David Duke, a former KKK leader, quickly tweeted his gratitude to the president. “Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa.”
Richard Spencer, co-editor of alt-right.com and President of the white supremacist National Policy Institute also praised Mr. Trump’s statements as “fair and down to earth.” He blamed the violence in Charlottesville on the police’s failure to protect the alt right’s “peaceful” protesters.
Democratic political leaders were quick to attack. “By saying he is not taking sides,” said Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), “Donald Trump clearly is. When David Duke and white su- premacists cheer, you’re doing it very, very wrong.”
But the president’s fellow Republicans have also been critical of his “both sides” stance. Sen- ator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and both former Presidents Bush publicly denounced Mr. Trump’s statements. US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) proclaimed “there are no good neo-Nazis.” Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney tweeted “no, not the same. one side is racist, bigoted, nazi. The other opposes racism and bigotry. Morally different universes.”
Since the violence in Charlottesville, several states and cities across the nation have stepped up efforts to remove controversial tributes from public spaces. Officials in Balti- more, Maryland; Lexington, Kentucky; Dallas, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; and Jacksonville, Florida have initiated plans to remove Confederate statues and monuments.
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The governor of Maryland, Republican Larry Hogan, called for the removal of a statue of US Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney, who authored the slavery affirming Dred Scott decision in 1877. “While we cannot hide from our history – nor should we,” he said in a state- ment, “the time has come to make clear the difference between properly acknowledging our past and glorifying the darkest chapters of our history.”
Baltimore’s mayor, Democrat Catherine Pugh, decided not to wait. With little notice and no fanfare, the city removed four Confederate monuments, including the Taney statue, un- der the cover of night on August 15.
The day before, protesters gathered in Durham, North Carolina and toppled a statue of a Confederate soldier that was displayed at the old Durham County Courthouse. Seven peo- ple were arrested on charges that included rioting and felony property damage.
Meanwhile in Arizona, Gov. Ducey has stated “it’s not my desire or mission to tear down any monuments or memorials.” Though civil rights activists in the state have been pressuring the governor to push for the removal of Confederate symbols in public spaces, they say he has not done anything to help their efforts. Instead, he has referred them to state boards that have power over their requests.
In particular, Rep. Bolding, the Arizona’s only black legislator, and other African American leaders in the state, including its chapters of the NAACP, have been asking for the removal of the Confederate monument on the Capitol grounds and for renaming of “Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway” and removal of the roadside marker in Apache Junction. The former is administered by the Legislative Governmental Mall Commission of which Gov. Ducey is a member. The latter is controlled by the Board on Geographic and Historic Names whose members are appointed by the governor.
In a telephone interview, Rep. Bolding said that he has initiated a petition to ask for a hear- ing and public discussion on the issue. “These symbols are associated with hate,” he said. “They are used as inspiration and motivation for incidents like the killing of nine people at a church by Dylann Roof and what has happened more recently in Charlottesville.”
Even though he began his efforts more than two years ago, Rep. Bolding has been frus- trated by the lack of progress so far. “Any time we see symbols of hate, separation and segre- gation,” he said, “we have to ask if we are promoting those things or doing our best to create a better Arizona.” In addition to the petition, Rep. Bolding said he has met with members of the targeted commissions and feels that things will be moving forward. “I am optimistic we will be able to get this done,” he stated.
In June, Arizona’s state historian, Marshall Trimble said removing the state’s monuments would unjustly erase history. “One thing that America should be proud of,” he stated, “is that it’s never tried to expunge or hide its history. It’s: Let the world see its warts and all. Our coun- try,” he continued, “has not been perfect. The slavery issue is a real blot on American history.”
Todd Moye, a University of North Texas history professor, disagrees. In an interview with news outlet Al Jazeera, he said “The people who erected the Confederate monuments in the first place had a very specific goal in mind: To assert that the South was white man’s country and that it remained so even after their armies lost the Civil War.”
Perhaps it’s necessary to be reminded that the Confederacy consisted of a group of states that wanted to leave the United States of America. While many argue it was to assert their constitutionally protected states’ rights, history tells us it was to protect their right to own other human beings as slaves. President Lincoln engaged the country in a war to protect its integrity as a nation. If the Confederate States had won the Civil War, we might be living in a country divided into North and South factions, kind of like Korea is today.
At a press conference called to urge the removal of Arizona’s Confederate monuments, pastor and Black Lives Matter-PHX chair, Reginald Walton said, “When they seceded from the Union, they became traitors to our country. To have a monument that honors that is honoring the institution of slavery. It’s honoring terrorism on this land.” Of the Confederate flag he stated, “It’s a tool of terror.”
It is not necessary for these monuments to stay in place in order for us to remember our history as a nation. That history is all around us, every day. If there was ever a place for these monuments to the Confederacy, that place was in the 1960s and before. The only place for them in 2017 is in museums to serve as educational tools. That would certainly be enough to keep the atrocities of our past in our memories, lest history repeat itself.
above: the jefferson davis Highway Memorial; the battle of Picacho Memorial; the State capitol confederate Memorial www.thenoise.us | the NOISE arts & news | SEPTEMBER 2017 • 9