Confederate Monuments

UNC Historian Cecelia Moore delves into true history of “Silent Sam” in court brief

This week UNC alumni and donors — and a prominent former university historian — filed briefs in the case insisting the the university will have to face the historical facts and answer those complicated questions if it intends to give the “Silent Sam” monument to the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Confederate Monuments in National Perspective

by Thomas J. Brown

Northern monuments established a foundation for the argument that Confederate military service deserves recognition although rendered in a deplorable cause.

Lawsuit seeks to overturn Silent Sam settlement at UNC

A settlement announced abruptly by the University of North Carolina System and its board of governors last month gives the North Carolina division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans all rights to the statue, bans the monument from any of the 14 counties with a UNC institution and creates a $2.5 million independent charitable trust for its preservation. 

Monumental statue of black man defies Confederate monuments

A massive bronze sculpture of a young black man with dreadlocks astride a muscular horse was permanently installed Tuesday in Virginia’s capital city, not far from one of the country’s most prominent displays of Confederate monuments. 

A University’s Betrayal of Historical Truth

by David W. Blight, W. Fitzhugh Brundage, Kevin M. Levin

The University of North Carolina agreed to pay the Sons of Confederate Veterans $2.5 million—a sum that rivals the endowment of its history department.

There's a new way to deal with Confederate monuments: Signs that explain their racist history

“It’s happening in all sorts of places,” said Adam Domby, a history professor at the College of Charleston who is writing a book about Confederate monuments. “Still, it’s clearly in many cases being used as a stopgap because the laws prohibit removing them.”  

There Are No Nostalgic Nazi Memorials in Germany

by Susan Neiman

Americans could learn from how drastically German society has moved away from the nadir of its history.

History on hold: University pauses the History Task Force work including Silent Sam

Interim Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said the task force is currently inactive as he game-plans its future. 

Calhoun statue should not stand in prominent public space

by Joseph A. Darby

The only good “compromise” is to take it down and involve those who cherish his memory in choosing a suitable venue for its more appropriate display.

‘It’s art activism’: Charleston artists gather at Calhoun monument, urge its removal

The Make It Right Campaign helped bring down the Silent Sam Confederate statute in Chapel Hill, N.C., in August, and campaign supporters are eyeing nine more — including Charleston’s Calhoun monument.

What to Do With Richmond’s Confederate Statues

Richmond’s Monument Avenue is lined with Confederate statues, but an exhibition filled with proposals to replace them struggles to find a road forward.

How the New Deal’s Federal Arts Programs Created a New American History

by Nina Silber

Without government funding, it would have been almost impossible for this alternative narrative to gain much of a foothold in the public imagination. 

Richmond’s Robert E. Lee Statue: A Southern Unionist’s Viewpoint

by Elizabeth Varon

Elizabeth Van Lew was a Southerner who supported the Union. She--and other Southern Unionists--deepen our understanding of the Civil War and its legacies. 

WATCH LIVE ONLINE: From Silent Sam to Phnom Pehn: Monuments and Memorials in History and Myth

Information on a live online history lecture. Watch on March 13th!

As a historian, my instinct was to preserve Confederate monuments, but I changed my mind

by W. Marvin Dulaney

After taking a closer look at them and the historical lies that they present and perpetuate, and the reverence that they hold upon the nation's landscape I was convinced that all of them need to come down. 

Some Civil War monuments need to go, others ought to stay, and still others should be built

by Michael Nelson

There are Confederate monuments, and there are Confederate monuments.

The complex task of writing history

As more voices weigh in on historical markers, every word is under extra scrutiny

Historians Should End Silence on Silent Sam

by Jonathan Zimmerman

It’s precisely because the statue embodies white supremacy that it should remain on the campus, in a history center that tells its full and hateful story. And my fellow historians should be the first people to say that.

Nathan B. Forrest’s descendants file suit against Memphis

by Ed Hooper

They are seeking the return of the Charles Niehaus statue removed December 2017 from Health Sciences Park in the city.

VA secretary gave inaccurate answers on pro-Confederate ties during confirmation process

His comments stand in contradiction to what his spokesman told CNN's KFile team last week