Speakers will look at the history of their construction in the north and south, how they influence memories of the war and how Public Perception has changed. The American Civil War museum is hosting this symposium together of virginia and historyer for civil war. Well, good morning, everyone. Morning. Its wonderful to see you all here because i know we are competing with a fabulous day outside. We are thrilled to have you all with us. For the American Civil War symposium, im sandy treadway, director at the areary of virginia, and we delighted the library is serving as host for the program. Cosponsoring the program with the American Civil War museum is the center for Civil War History at the university of virginia. I know many of you in the audience are regular attendees , but for thosem of you visiting your library for your first time today, i hope on your way out you will stop at the lobby desk and pick up and come back and be a regular for us, too. We have some great womens history programs coming up and at the end of april, we have our annual history of cartography , and this year, they are doing a whole day program on the history of richmond and its Development Using maps and cartography to showcase that. Our current exhibit, which is on the history of religious freedom on march 2, closes so if you havent seen it, please do see that. Please come back on april 3. Were doing a really fun when called teetotalers and moonshiners virginias experiment with prohibition. Center for Civil War History also invites you to attend their upcoming conference on the shenandoah valley, which will take place march 31 at the university of virginia. Will be amonglars the presenters. Now, it is my great pleasure to turn the podium over to the president of the American Civil War foundation to get our program started today. Thanks. [applause] mr. Rawls thank you, sandy, and thanks to the library of virginia for making this wonderful facility available for the annual symposium. Good morning, everyone. You probably heard on your way in cspan is here, and they are airing this live. Theres nothing more irritating to a tv audience than to hear a cell phone. Let the cell phones is in your pockets and not ring in our ears. It is ok before you put them back in your pockets to tweak weet your friends and cspan3. To tune into our topic today has been often in the news for many years. Some of you no doubt find the often rancorous public debate about civil war monuments troubling and just wish the debates would go away, but you know it will not just go away. The constructive thing to do is to accept the debates as evidence that the subject of our institution, the American Civil War museum, is relevant today. Many of you were our regulars to the events, history buffs who love to study the lessons of history. I would like to add a special welcome to some of you who are new to the preservationists who have joined us today in the audience. As we have over the decades in our existence as the museum of the confederacy and the American Civil War center which combined to form the American Civil War museum, we have always thought it was our responsibility to engage constructively with public issues arising from the , ifect of the civil war that subject is monuments, the confederate battle flag, or the discussion of slavery as the cause of the war. Our purpose today is to promote a constructive and civil civil warion of monuments. We have organized a program that features scholars who come from diverse academic backgrounds and bring diverse viewpoints to the subject. Collectively, they will provide background and perspective on the monuments and give us different viewpoints that will help us understand what is involved in these discussions and debates. Too often these days, people only talk to or listen to others with whom they agree, but whatever your personal opinion as you walk in today, you will hear opinions today that differ from yours. I hope you agree that that is a good thing, that exposure to other ideas and perspectives is the way we all learn and the way that a Civil Society should engage in divisive issues. We will have three speakers before lunch and two speakers after lunch followed by a panel discussion. There will be opportunity for q a from the audience at the end of each of the programs, and we hope there will be good discussion amongst the audience and panelists in the final program, but this will be a civil talk. This is not the Jerry Springer show. Since we are broadcasting live, i will ask that you help me keep to the time schedule cspan is keeping on this, particularly returning from the brakes after each of the speakers, but i should also say that after our live Coverage Today of the entire conference, cspan intends to begin airing each slot starting march 25 on saturday night, once a week for the entire program. Additionally, on our website and on cspans website, you can see andos of former symposiums programs that we have done at the museum. Now i would like to introduce our first speaker. Christie coleman is my colleague , ceo of the American Civil War museum. She is a native of williamsburg who holds a ba in Museum Studies. Before the combination that formed the American Civil War museum in 2013, she was the ceo of the American Civil War center. She came to richmond from detroit where she had been president and ceo of the nations largest African American museum, the Charles H Wright museum of African American history. She began her career in public history at colonial williamsburg. Decade there,n a she became its director of public programs. Christie is no stranger to controversies over public history. Having been at the center of the storm over colonial williamsburgs reenactment of a slave auction. When she arrived in richmond in 2008, she was quickly introduced to the strong feelings that surround civil war monuments. She was quickly introduced to governor mcauliffes monument workgroup, but we will let christie tell us all about this in her program titled, monuments, markers, museums, and the landscape of civil war emory. Ladies and gentlemen, christie coleman. [applause] good morning, everyone. Good morning. Ms. Coleman that was quite in introduction, wasnt it . Mater would be very upset if i did not make one slight correction i had an in a in Museum Studies from hampton i had an m. A. Public historians primary job is a process understanding the delicate balance between history, heritage, and memory. It is understanding that history is never static. Its always present. Its understanding that each generation looks to the past to make sense of the world in which they are currently living. , each questions generation, that may not be the same questions that the previous generation asked, but the difference in the answers does not mean the narrative they are developing is somehow false or inaccurate. It is simply that history is present. Public historians also understand that notions of stories andlect remembrances that a community has negotiated to preserve and reflect itself. At some very interesting point in time because it is from this that the memories themselves are formed, if they are the stories shared on the front porch of an elders house, or if it is the first trip to a battlefield where you got to listen to the skilled rangers weave narratives that helped you remember or live a yes, itar moment, and, is also through a landscape that is dotted with statuarys statuaries. Intof these things play our understanding, how we regard ourselves, our communities, our nation. Quite frankly, if you had asked me back in 2008 when i became president of the american civil that that would be my feeling, i would say, huh, no. In quiteoccurred to me the same way the importance of a landscape that way. I love Historic Preservation and beautiful buildings and things of that sort, but it never really occurred to me what statues, monuments could mean or the power they could have. I mentioned 2008 because i was newly appointed president and ceo of the american Historic Center when less than a month into the job, i opened up the Richmond Times dispatch, and lo and behold, there was this grand article talking about a major donation of a statute of Jefferson Davis by the Virginia Division of the sons of confederate veterans to the museum. Admittedly, i was a little norned because the board the staff ever mentioned this to me, either interviews or in early meetings. Theres a reason why they did not mention it, and that was because the article was the first time any of them had heard of this alleged donation. No one within the organization had been directly contacted, i simply waited, assuming that the scd would reach out when they were ready would reach out when they were ready. They did. We sat down and started the conversation. Museums we have protocols. We have policies. We have all those things. I made it very clear that our at ass is that we look donation. We consider its historic merit. We consider its artistic merit all of those kinds of things and then the Collection Committee would make its recommendation to the full board. I explained this to the gentleman. We spent months researching this piece. We went out and asked davis scholars in particular to give theheir insights about depiction within the statute because that, too, was critically important. These datad all of points so that we, as an institution, could make an informed decision. Because, you see, im also not so foolish enough to think that. T was simply what it was this was a test for a fairly new organization that has just hired an africanamerican woman to run it. It was a test to determine or to put into place what we would be. I have to tell you during all of this, i also got on the phone and called waite rawls, my colleague at the museum of the confederacy. I said, i dont understand. If this incident that is depicted happened at the white house, why didnt they offer it to you . And he says, well, some of them ate our guts. I said that i dont understand. It is a make any sense. They are the museum of the confederacy. A long time ago, they stop being a museum for the confederacy became in museum about the confederacy. I get that, but i could not wrap my head around this thing. Again, it was really more about the way it was handled, but above all, it was my intention that we would do our jobs, that we would, in fact, give it the consideration we would any other artifact that was being offered to us, and thats what we did. We, again, spent months. We followed the protocol, and the team made its recommendation to the full board. Was the firstn monument controversy i have ever been in in my life. , it said at the beginning was really quite instructive, listening to these men and women times, veryt passionate discussion around if they museum should accept it. What could we do if we did accept it . What was the expectation of the donor if we did accept it . All valid questions that staff has spent a considerable amount of time working through. As we were preparing for the vote, it was clear to me that this was not going to be an easy one for a variety of reasons, and not necessarily for the reasons you may think. What was disturbing on some level was that some of it had impassioned even though nobody was yelling and screaming at each other or anything ridiculous like that, but some folks, i have to say, our not accepting it would somehow cast and aspersion aspersion. Others felt that our accepting it would cast and aspersion an aspersion. One board member in particular, before we noted, before we voted, said very thoughtfully, what business are we in . We are in the business of education. Business of public history. Therefore, we could use this statute as an opportunity to. Lk about how People Choose moment wasof that m descended on that group as we now talked about the business that we are in. And so, as the press was waiting with needed breath they did breath for this meeting to conclude, the board voted to accept this statute as long as the donor understood that it would have to be setpted under the policies forth in the museums collections policy program that was established trust me long before i ever walked in the door. Well, as it turned out, those terms were unacceptable for the scv. Because, frankly, they wanted to tell us exactly where it was going to go, they wanted to tell us exactly how it was going to be interpreted on the site i mean, it was really quite interesting. There were groups of them that would show up on the site and just walk the grounds, start putting, in some cases, like, literal stakes in the ground, and they wanted it to be placed on a slight hillside below where was, right . Monument for you. Little aside the lincoln monument, as some of you may know, was placed at the site as a gift from the United States Historical Society to the National Parks service. That happened in 2003 before the center ever came into being at that site. , the placement of the Lincoln Statue itself was a lightning rod of controversy. So as i was, quite frankly, going through this interesting , the nationalcv Parks Service shared with me the volume of letters it had deceived about that, and it was deplorable, the things that were. Eing said we had 2000plus people gathered to dedicate this monument, very subtle thing. If you have never seen it, its relatively subtle compared to the monolith we have on monument avenue. , but it wase thing dedicated in 2003 as a plane ,lew overhead with a banner sick temperature redness sic temper tyrannus. Members of the crowd through birdseed. But it was the letters that i could not get over. The venom. Again, thats when i understood the power of a thing for some people. Again, that kind of opened my time of the first really thinking about what monuments say about our communities, what they can mean, what they can evoke. The truth of the matter is when we think about this thing that way, we recognize that they are powerful symbols. They are meant to be. Thats why they were erected in the first place. Tourists and museum goers explore the civil war, most of them, through these things. By visiting thousands of monuments and museums and historical markers that are scattered all over the United States. These things document battles, events, and personalities of the war, heroes and others, depending on ones perspective there are other words that are used. North and south, east, west. Collectively, these places really should remind us that the civil war altered everything in america, not just the landscape, but economy and politics and social structure and more. However, i have to ask this question what view of the wars cause, source, and legacies are viewers getting from this experience . A recent study by the Pew Research Center and by recent, i mean in 2015 found that more than 48 of respondents believe the primary cause of the civil war was states rights, meaning terrace, nullification debates, etc. , 30 aring this compared to ,oting slavery tariffs nullification debates, etc. The causes of the war are deeply intertwined, yet, translating a toe nuanced interpretation the general populace proves challenging for many reasons, and i would daresay say part of that is because of what the landscape looks like in many of these places. If you are in the north and see or sherman orrant whoever it is, theres this , we won sort of were done, and they dont pay m. Eir attention to the in the south, its a little bit different. When you factor in the reality that most civil war sites and battlefields are principally in the south, how do you think rememberedd often be . Quite frankly, among the most prominent i say among the among the most prominent, of course, are the battlefields, and those are run by the National Park service. For decades, the park service, as brilliant as they are, as themic as they are, avoided controversy of cause of war focusing solely on actions, what happened on the battlefield. They focused on military actions, on leaders with great fire, great verve, right . Littlet approach proved in terms of helping move the generations that are coming to those places now asking new questions, needing a different context, needing something more. Other civil warrelated museums and sites around the country also were facing this same dynamic. Some moved faster than others. Park, it took a literal act of congress in the 1990s to bring about any change about discussing causes of war. Richmond, thee in former capital of the confederacy, how the civil war was interpreted here without a doubt started to have and national impact. Because, you see, it was here, here in richmond, where memorialization of the war took on grand scale. Being the of course, erection of the monument to robert e. Lee. Immediately after his death, a group of people started a group of women, in particular, and ultimately the Lee Memorial Association gathered to talk about not only where should the monument go and richmond, for them, was absolutely it had to be richmond. But they started talking about how they wanted to remember him, figure. Ored if we back up just a little bit, i think it is important to also understand that as the war is raging, a surgeon memorialization is happening during the course of the war regarding the dead. First, we have the establishment on the federal side. We have the establishment of in order toeteries bury these tens of thousands of men who are losing their lives on the battlefield. The Confederate States of america did not have a similar system. Unfortunately, what that meant of its too often, many dad had to languish in the field until someone could retrieve their bodies many of its dead. Or they lay in shallow graves. There was outrage of this fact, but the women mostly middle to upper class white women organized themselves to rectify this situation. Thats where we get a lot of these memorial associations two rebarry memorial rebury. Ions to lee monumentof the becomes a significant piece. When it is actually dedicated, 100,000 people 100,000 people show up to the outskirts of. Ichmond to participate an you imagine that . 100,000 people showed up. It was quite the spectacle. Much longer take due to the success of that particular venture for other monuments to be erected on monument avenue in richmond, the developing real estate for wealthier homes on the edge of the city. An honor to live there. The the next three decades, Jeb Stuart Monument in 19 oh seven, Jefferson Davis monument also in 1907, thomas j Stonewall Jackson in 1919, and matthew 1909, each ofy in them embedded in granite. One would find the of each whiles simultaneously speaking to honor the sacrifice. The placement of the lee monument alone quickly made destinationustsee for confederate memory faithful and the curious from around the world. When these soldiers are dying off again, north and south what we find and often refer to as the memorial period. That makes sense, right . People are dying. You want to memorialize them. But we cannot deny the other social forces that are taking place at the time. Particularly, this is the birth of jim crow also going on. The federal government has backed up. The south is able to do what it does, and part of that, again, makes itself real and is ported by the federal obviously, the Supreme Court of the United States, several members of whom were still very much closely related to the south. Some were confederate s. Mpathetic ruled in plessis the ferguson ferguson. It is a powerful reassertion of thesesupremacy, and monuments are going up at the same time. Is it any wonder, then, that peoples views of them may not be on a terrific honorific . Is it any wonder that for some people, from the beginning, these are not things to celebrate . That day, in fact, could be powerful and painful that they, in fact, could be powerful and painful images of oppression . We would not see another search in monumentssurge like that until the late 1940s and 1950s, which is sort of the second wave, if you will. And again, what is interesting know,that you especially as we were beginning to approach the centennial. By 1961, we were beginning to see another wave of monuments, principally in the south. But you cannot ignore what is happening in the larger and wider society. Of the also the period modern civil rights era. Its during this time not only that we see more statues, but it is incomplete defiance of the Supreme Courts decision in brown the board brown v. Board, but it is right here in our own state. Barbara johnson, her classmates walking out of the deplorables School Conditions that they were expected to learn and, that schools throughout the country, particularly again in the south let me correct myself particularly in the south, started to rename those very schools. If they had not shut them down, began renaming those schools after confederate icons. Many of those schools that had majority students of color. Again, what do symbols and monuments and things mean . There has always been this up and down. We have always struggled with what this means. When richmond and its community these conversations again and do not think for one minute that the recent discussions around monument removal is new. It is not. Here in richmond, it has been going on for quite a while. Richmond civic and Community Leaders decided to tackle this question, they chose a slightly different route. That what was most important was not taking away but enhancing and adding to, that our stories are vast and , and theyem worthy. Tarted in the 1970s its interesting to me for a lot of reasons, but it is interesting to me that the very first monument that richmond put africanamerican was a statue to honor bill bojangles robinson. Yes, he was a very worldrenowned, beloved hollywood figure. He got to dance with Shirley Temple and taught her how to tap. But this would be the first image that would be depicted. Another monument devoted to an africanamerican would not go up for another 20 years. Was dedicated,an being eventually placed on Browns Island as part of a riverfront development. But at one point it was moved or stolen or something and had to actually be anchored down much more tightly. That particular statue was designed to honor the black men who were crucial to the enterprise involving the river, men who made richmond home, enslaved and free. Soon it was henry box brown, and you would probably walk right by it. Its just the box on the ground. The Lincoln Statue showed up, there was already trouble of foot in richmond because again, this fight, this backandforth of images and landscapes have been waging here for quite a while. Some of you who are richmond natives may remember these flashpoints around, particularly, confederate imagery had been happening quite a bit. Monument avenue is not just the primary focus, even though we know that many of the statues there frequently are defaced, and that has been having increased frequency, unfortunately. But in 2000, it exploded again. Because there were many in richmonds Africanamerican Community that raged against the beingof robert e. Lee included on a banner that was celebrating and highlighting iconic figures on the citys floodwall. The lee banner was burned by police described as a molotov cocktail, and the culprit or corporate or culprits were never found. When attempts to replace it were made, a city councilmember railed against it while vulgar threats and racial epithets were heard at hurled at him. The united daughters of the confederacy and sons of confederate veterans lodged their own complaints. They strongly did believe that lee did deserve to be honored among those depicted. The commander of the division of for a the time called swift and thorough investigation of the vandalism, labeling it as nothing less than a crime of hatred toward southerners and confederate history. Times. Ate ago inppened two years , arleston, South Carolina confederateving iconography set the world on fire again and, like, a rippling , in communities all over, this question of what shall we do, how shall we remember, from changing names on academic removing to actually , touary from public squares what i consider a more , recognizingproach that the landscape is big enough to say all of who and what we that the sameng investment and care should be that we alsoizing have an opportunity to help our current generations by answering their questions honestly. The context, in many cases, to these places and these in fact, bet may, far more difficult for them to understand. Yes, i have watched all of this. All of this happened within our institution, within our field. Trying to figure out how we can best serve, how we can provide a space for our visitors, our no matter communities what side they are on, to come together to have reasoned discussion, to come together to. Igure out how we do this itsable if you feel too short, build a new one. Its not over. I recently learned actually just a couple of days ago that even in louisville, a statue has just been removed and will be moved to another location. We all know about what happened in charlottesville. We know what happened in new orleans. Our stories are vast. Today, you are going to hear a number of conversations, a number of perspectives around remember. And should but here is the beautiful thing that madecommunities these decisions for themselves. Therefore, it should be communities that make the decisions now. Hope that in making those decisions, with all the passion that lies underneath, that we understand what we are doing and why. So, with that, im going to turn it over for questions because i think i have six minutes remaining. Ive been trying to be very good. [laughter] ms. Coleman anybody who has ever heard me speak before [applause] cancoleman knows that i definitely go on and on and on, but cspan made me be disciplined today, so i actually had paper, which has hardly ever happened. Anyway, are there any questions at this point . I will repeat the question if necessary. Good morning. I wanted to ask you, what is statuease on why the lee was taken down in charlottesville . Ms. Coleman what is my perspective on why it was taken down . It has not come down yet. I understand its going to be about 700,000 to do it, which is stunning to me. Has said, quite passionately, cant they find Something Else to do with that money . Seriously, i was surprised by that decision, but as i just said, communities decided to put them up, and as long as the conversation is happening as long as the conversation that is happening in that community is one that is reasoned, a community can decide to move it. Its tough. I get that there are people sitting out there right now looking at me going, why would she say that . Thats so wrong. Not saying thats what i would do. Im saying i understand the logic. The dominance of these pieces and the fact that a community has not made an effort to add to , if this is the dominant basically, the communities are saying, this is how we want to be remembered, changes andmunity says, no, this is not the only way we want to be remembered, that is Something Else. In richmond, the conversation has certainly been passionate but often tends to be a little more even toned because of the variety of statuary that have been added to our landscape, particularly in the last 25 years, and it does make a difference when you can see a reconciliation statue, knowing there will be a statue to maggie walker, knowing it makes a difference. Flair takes all iis history into effect, think that is what is lacking, and i daresay that is one of the conversations communities could have. For my second ms. Coleman no, you only get one. Thank you, sir. Yes you can im from yes . Sville im from charlottesville. When you say that communities need to have that conversation, thats very true. The problem is in charlottesville, we have a city council of five members, all of whom are democrats and none of whom are from charlottesville, and they appointed a Blueribbon Commission consisting of three specialty members and six members at large. Of the members at large, none of them were from charlottesville. They had for africanamericans 4 africanamericans re anteater very liberal white people. Feel veryns do not involved in the discussion. Ms. Coleman can you imagine being part of a community that you feel no one is listening to you . Absolutely. The irony is not lost on me. Ms. Coleman i am not from charlottesville. I appreciate what youre saying. I do take a certain offensive they were all democrats, if they were cu republicans, they would get this. I dont think that is fair. I know some hardcore confederati that are democrats. I think were often so quick to dismiss by these labels that we i know thating, and i was a little snarky, so please forgive me, but the idea of nobody is hearing us and they dont represent us that essentially is what the communities often are saying, that nobody was listening to us and nobody was hearing us when we were saying theres something about this that needs at my soul eats at my soul. When you step back from that, it gives us a better would talk about it. I really did not want to speak to the decision itself because i followed it in the paper like everyone else but i was never at the meetings, and i know it will come up again. We have time for one more question and then i have to leave. This gentleman right here. Yes, sir . Good morning. Study of American History, no white people founded america, ok . No black people was in process. This language is what am having what i am having difficulty with. Do you follow . S. Coleman no we fail to realize that these terms came along at a time of slavery to plant the idea of inferiority and superiority and human beings. Ms. Coleman understood. Ok, so the question related to the topic then. The question related to the topic is that we cannot address the issue until we abolish the psychological impact of institutional racism. This language black and white is very divisive. If i was to ask american europeans here where they came from, they cannot say that they came from whiteland. Even today, we are the most Pluralistic Society on the planet earth with tribes and nationalities from all over the world. Until wed just like during the time before the civil war, no one wanted to make the issue of institutional slavery the reason here today, no one wants to make the issue of institutional racism the issue that is tearing us apart, and we have to change the paradigm. Ms. Coleman ok, understood. I think i know where the question is going. The bottom line is its about narrative change and you are absolutely right. The conversation about statuary is about merit of change within the community. The other issue youre talking about, thats a different conference at a different symposium, but as it relates to monuments and statuary, its about narrative change. That is what communities are grappling with. Ow shall we remember . Thank you all very much. [applause] thank you very much, christy. We will take a break now. In honor of cspan, you have 10 minutes to be back in your seats and we will get rocking and rolling again. Thank you. You are watching a symposium on civil war monuments on American History tv on cspan3. Weekend, we every feature the people and events that help document the american story. We will be back with the next speaker, thomas brown, author of the public art of civilization. For the next 10 minutes o
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