Frederick Douglass delivered Lincoln reality check at Emancipation Memorial

[My Name Is Kate]

(07-07-2020 10:40 PM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  All of this is fine for general discussion; however, it ignores the reason that the Emancipation Memorial has been attacked by protestors, and why a better understanding of the memorial might be beneficial for its survival.

Protestors see the statue as demeaning black people and putting them in a subservient position; literally, on their knees. They don't want any statues depicting or even hinting at black people as slaves, or anything close to that. They are ashamed of their slave past, and if they are white protestors, they are ashamed of what white people did to black people. Blacks (the ones who want the statue removed) would like to believe that the slaves freed themselves, or at least had a significant role in freeing themselves. Better yet, they would like to erase (cancel) the past, as though it never happened. Some protestors want a statue of Harriett Tubman (Underground Railroad activist/leader), to replace the Emancipation Memorial, because that would be more "empowering" for blacks.

I can see why some people may not like the Emancipation Memorial statue (I am one of them). It is uncomfortable to look at from the perspective of someone who was once in an enslaved position, or had enslaved ancestors. But I don't agree at all with the desire to eradicate history. That is called being in denial. No one who is in denial has truly overcome their past.

The people who are the political and financial power behind the protests, likely have other reasons for wanting statues like the Emancipation Memorial removed.