Speaking Out

The Monuments

What the national media misunderstood

IN THEIR PRAISE OF Mayor Mitch Landrieu for removing the confederatemonuments welearned thisaboutthe national media—they sawthe issue as blackand white—a throwbackcivil rights issue. From their perspective, determining right from wrong was not difficult. The monumentshad to go. For many localsthough, it was an entirely differentissue. It had nothingto do with race, the Civil War, states rights, certainlynot black versus white. To manylocals, especiallythose whogrew up here, itwas about the backdropof their lives—the streetscapethat was part of their experience.Preservationis not nearlyas titillatingof a topic to The New York Times as is race. Giventhe national media’s passion for seeking long-range presidential contenders this played into their hands. Away from the spotlight, therecould havebeen a compromisethatwouldhave made a statement but still left somehistoricdignity. The Beauregard statue should have been kept in place. With Lee, Davis and Liberty Place gone there could be beno doubt of the city’s attitude, but even The New York Times, NBC and Rachel Maddow might have understoodthatBeauregard was different in that he was local, a postwaradvocateofintegrationand hisstatuewasa fine pieceof art. Placesdo not often have monuments to individuals on the losing side, but New Orleans was part of the war. We are acrossroads tohistory.Beauregardwas part of the story. In the mayor’s speech,madeon the day that the Lee monument wasremoved,he declaredthat “The CivilWar is over.” Both the national and local media gave prominenceto that statement despite it having already been declared many times through the decadesbeginning at Appomattox. Whatitreallyrefers to is important moments in racial interaction. Orators could have proclaimed the Civil War’s end on many occasions over the decades including the following: • In 1964 when the federal Civil Rights bill was passed. • In 1967, when the federal voting rights bills were passed. •Throughout the 1960s when New Orleans became a black majority city. • From 1970 to ’78, whenMayor Moon Landrieu, thecurrentmayor’s father,integratedcity government. • In 1979 when Dutch Morial became the city’sfirst black mayor beginninga succession of four black mayors. • During that same timeperiodwhen thecouncilhad a blackmajority, except for a brieftime afterHurricaneKatrina. • In everyday life as blacks and whites increasingly interact. Truth is, when racialtensionis at its worst it isfrequentlybecause it is stirred up by City Hall. All sides in thisissuehave been hindered byextremists such asselfproclaimedanarchists warringfor the statues removal orConfederatesoldierholdoversmaking their caseforkeeping thestatues. Neitherextremerepresents the ideals of thepeopleinthe middle who trulycareaboutthecity. Before all this started there was no cry for removing themonuments. Now the issue has become a source oftension. From thebeginning this issuewas based onwhatthemayorwanted. There was never a legitimate debate. Findingcommon ground mightnotexcitethe nationalmedia, but it would be good for the city. n