As was
typical after a lecture, students came up to ask questions. Usually it was a
bare handful, most wanting to know about mundane issues like registration, the
syllabus or the online learning management system of the university. And as
soon as she answered one of those, the others filed out, having gotten their
answer.
This time,
though, many stuck around for something more substantive. One student asked
her, “What do you propose we do about Confederate Flags and monuments to Lee?”
From her accent, it was clear she was from a Southern state.
Several
students nodded in agreement with the question.
“I did
avoid answering that directly, didn’t it?” Alex commented.
More nods
and some muttered agreement.
“Okay,
first, the easy one. Monuments to people like Lee should remain monuments;
however, we need to do more than remember that he was a than a Confederate
general. The man had a rich life before the Civil War, and even made a
difference after it. We can celebrate more than one aspect of a person’s life.”
That seemed
to satisfy a lot of people from how they nodded along, but not the original
question asker, who lifted a hand up and opened her mouth again, but Alex
forestalled her with her own hand.
“The
Confederate Flag is more complicated. Heritage and history are one thing, but is
a war fought even partially to maintain a horrible institution like slavery to
be celebrated? The Confederacy was not a happy chapter in American history. It
may well have been inevitable, but I don’t think it’s something to take pride
in. It’s a bit hyperbolic, but similar to the idea of taking pride in the Nazi
flag.”
A student
next to the original asker grinned wide with a smug look on his face, so Alex
thought it was time to burst the “I told you so” bubble.
“That said,
history should always be remembered, and very little of it is actually worth
celebrating. Displaying a Confederate flag is fine in the proper context, when
it’s used to teach. History is not for celebrating or remembering the parts we
want to. That’s what we already have. We can remember the Confederacy, and the
lessons the Civil War taught us, and the lessons that we have still to learn.”
The next
professor came in, tapping his watch subtly while catching Alex’s eye.
“And before
anyone thinks to feel superior, the most segregated cities in the country, both
historically and today, are in the north. The old feelings run strong, and the
north, especially, has done little to truly reconcile and integrate diverse
populations. Our memorials to history should be complex and complete, as should
our curriculua.
“Now, we
have to make way for the next lecture. We can continue this somewhere else, if
you are gluttons for more.”