English Composition

English Composition Study Guide

©2018 of 84 Tennessee lawmakers can no longer plausibly deny the white supremacist origins of the Confederate monument movement. It would be a mistake for legislators to react to the eviction of Forrest from Memphis by further curtailing the rights of municipalities that want to be rid of Confederate memorials. If lawmakers take that approach, the state will be deservedly mocked for trying to turn back the clock to the year 1900 — a bloody and shameful time in the annals of Southern history. Strong Response Example: Nightly news reports are filled with stories about racial tension. From the black lives matter movement to protests in the streets over raciallymotivated acts of aggression, the divide in the United States over continuing racial conflict seems to be growing. Fueling this growing divide is the movement to remove confederate monuments from public places. While many agree that the antiquated monuments are a painful reminder for African American communities, there are still some who argue that those monuments honor beloved historical figures from an era of southern greatness. Despite the ongoing debate, it is essential that monuments honoring white supremacy be removed from public locations as they celebrate a horrific time in history and promote racial tension. The Civil War and Jim Crow law eras were periods of history that should not be celebrated. During the Civil War the South fought to maintain slavery. Upon the abolishment of slavery, states instead enacted Jim Crow laws, which legally enforced segregation. It was during this time that lynching was an acceptable and commonplace occurrence as African Americans were routinely hanged, burned alive, or violently dismembered (Staples). According to Staples, people sought to continue traditions of racial inequity and “embarked on a propaganda campaign that romanticized slavery, idealized the Confederate past and held that white supremacy would restore lost Southern greatness. The Confederate monuments that sprang up in public spaces across the South—and that still stand today—were an essential part of that campaign.” This time of acceptable horrific violence towards African Americans is not one that should be celebrated, let alone revered by statues of Confederate generals or founders of the Ku Klux Klan in public parks and outside prominent government buildings. While some may argue that the statues are simply honoring political and military leaders of the time without any underlying implications of the promotion of racial inequality, it is impossible to have memorials immortalizing people who sought to foster racial violence without also acknowledging what they stood for. Additionally, in a study conducted by the Southern Poverty Law center, it was shown that these Confederate statues were erected in two different time periods. One was during the Jim Crow law era, and the other was in the 1950s and 60s as a direct response to the end of segregation during the civil rights movement (Staples). This second wave of statues honoring Confederate era leaders during the civil rights movement proves that while some may attempt to argue the monuments are not promoting white supremacy, this is not truly the case. The timing in which these statues were put in place are both times in which white people have wanted to celebrate racial division and exert that one race is better than another. Regardless of the intent and motivation behind these statues, the bottom line is that they do continue to foster racial tension. Many of the cities where these monuments are displayed are predominately African American (Staples). Why would an African American on his way to the courthouse for a marriage license want to pass by a statue of the KKK founder? It just serves as a reminder of the division of races in the country and an incredibly painful past. Another issue is that in the current climate of our country, racial inequities are still a concern. These statues to the Confederate era only continue to remind people of the division between races. As Staples says, this is a time when “white supremacists are rallying to the Confederate cause and sowing hate from coast to Achieve Page 71