Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Sadie Schiermeyer: Renaming Schools
Link: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/09/18/dallas-plans-to-rename-schools-with-confederate-ties.html
A debate started in Dallas when a statue of the Confederate general Robert E. Lee was removed from the park that was named after him. It was removed because of his connection to the Confederacy- and what the Confederacy stood for. The city and the school board are taking it to the next level now. Four schools have already declared that they will be changing their names due to ties to the Confederacy and/or slavery, and twenty-one other schools in both Texas and Virginia are still being researched.
Growing up, I was always told that we learn history so we don't repeat it. That is the first thing I thought of when I originally heard the statue was being removed. I understand the reasons behind removing it and I completely agree. What the Confederacy stood for, slavery mainly, are some of the worst things to have ever plagued this country. However, I don't believe that we should be pushing it past the statue to try to pretend like it never happened. For example, people like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin are on the list. They are important to our country's birth and development and aren't tied to slavery or the Confederacy. Although I agree that influential parts of our culture and society shouldn't have such a terrible connotation, we need to remember how terrible those times and people were in order to make sure it never happens again.
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I completely agree with that. Slavery was horrible and what the Confederate generals were fighting for was wrong, but we need to make sure that we do not forget what slavery meant to our country, and that we cannot gloss over our history just because we were on the wrong side of it.
ReplyDeleteBrooke Simpson
Just because bad things happened in our past, doesn't mean we should forget about them. We should learn from our mistakes and move forward.
ReplyDeleteI think the struggle here is between remembering the darker aspects of our past and the memorializing and glorifying of them. Yes, the Confederacy and its generals were important parts of American history, but many of its memorials were erected by white racists in a period of white racism; and those that weren't have no excuse if and when they glorify those who committed treason against their country and fought for the oppression of an entire race. You needn't make widespread public show of a historical figure to remember him/her or what he/she stood for, or we would have long forgotten people such as Gen. George Meade, who beat Lee at Gettysburg.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the changing of the school names and the taking down of statues and flags of confederate soldiers. We live in a union society that does not support slavery or anything to do with it. Changing the names will help people for get about the pass and be able to move on. -Michal Randolph
ReplyDeleteI totally support changing school's confederate-tied names. I don't think we should forget slavery, as it should be put in museums. However, glorifying the statues for white supremacy is definitely wrong. Changing the names of these schools will hopefully move our nation closer to equality.
ReplyDeleteI may be an outlier here, however I think this is a terrible idea. I will be referring to this website a bit.
Deletehttps://www.civilwar.org/learn/articles/why-non-slaveholding-southerners-fought
It wasn't only space owners that fought for the south. Many were scared and pressured under
the constant harassment the northerners gave them about their way of life, with slaves or without them, and it only got worse with the
election of Lincoln. (Don't get me wrong he was
a fantastic president) while many did fight for slavery, some fought for what they believed to be an escape from the opressive words and hateful speeches that plagued the south. For example, General Lee was living in the north near the White House when the civil war started, and he moved back home to fight for his ideals and what he believed in. That's one thing we seem to be forgetting here. These names don't represent slavery. They represent a belief in ideals that fueled them to fight for something they felt a connection to, and i hope we can all feel at least a little respect for their ideals, even if looking back they may not have been in the right. I don't think it warrants removing them from the public eye in the slightest. 😋
Maria Gonzalez
ReplyDeleteAlthough the act of renaming schools that have connections with confederate leaders is a good idea, we can take actions that are more 'useful' in the long run so that history doesn't repeat itself.
Though the symbolism of major figures of the confederate states of America can remind us of the cruel treatment of minorities and harsh conditions and broken ideals, I feel its is detrimental not to just wipe away our past, the hardships and cruelty toward our ancestors shaped society as it is today
ReplyDelete-David Bagley
I agree with you! These statues are apart of history, and removing them is like pretending history never happened. Maybe we could relocate the statues to museums or something. It is a hard thing to consider, especially when these statues are so historical in good and bad ways.
ReplyDelete