Time. It is time to put an end to the laws because it fully embrace the righteous cause. It is time to replace the racist symbols of oppression and inequality, symbols that have dominated our landscape with symbols that represent and summon the best in all of us, in all of our people, ones that reflect the diverse, inclusive and equitable city we are today, and we continue to strive to be. It is time to heal, ladies and gentlemen. Richmond is no longer at the confederacy. [applause] is time to show our community how much love we have here. It is time we embrace our diversity. It is time we remove that hinder the dreams of black children in our community. Years sinceplus these monuments were erected, we have known better. Better during jim crow. We knew better during mass resistance. Long before the black mens of young like george floyd. We have two ben 10 makes pandemics in this country, covid19 and racism. One is six months old, the other 400 years old. As the events of the last month
Good morning, everyone. Ladies and gentlemen, it is time. It is time. End to theto put an lost cause and fully embrace the righteous cause. It is time to replace the racist symbols of oppression and inequality, symbols that have dominated our landscape with symbols that represent and summon the best in all of us, in all of our people, ones that reflect the diverse, inclusive and equitable city we are today, and we continue to strive to be. It is time to heal, ladies and gentlemen. Richmond is no longer at the confederacy. [applause] it is time to show our community how much love we have here. It is time we embrace our diversity. It is time we remove that hinder the dreams of black children in our community. Through 100 plus years since these monuments were erected, we have known better. We know better during jim crow. We knew better during mass resistance. We knew better long before the dying pleas of young black men like george floyd. We have two ben 10 makes pandemics in this country
I want to thank representative gerald connollys office for aranging the room, the 11th district of virginia for electing representative mcconnolly since hes been generous enough to be doing this and i want to thank the History Center for doing are had the work. The national History Center offers these briefings because everything has a history and when some of those everythings are within the realm of public policy, then its our obligation as historians to provide the Historical Context essential to inform, debate and decision making. That obligation forms the sole position in these briefings. Were not here to convince anybody of any particular legislation. Were here because understanding the implications of change and hence shaping its direction requires understanding it changes that have brought us to this juncture in the first place. And weve discussed in these meeting rooms the histories of immigration, Civil Military relations, executive orders, social security, commerce in outer
Ok. Gentlemen, our first speaker today is dr. Timothy s sydnor. He is professor of english at the City University of new york, Bronx Community college. He holds a doctorate in english education, a masters in religious studies, and masters of divinity in theological studies. Person,e have a museum a lawyer, and a theologian. [laughter] discussiono our today the perspective of a scholar who pays close attention to the power of words. All the monuments on our collective commemorative landscape have back stories, stories of individuals or groups , who decided to erect them where or how they are, and to read the words on them that we see today. His 2011 book, an illustrated guide to virginias Confederate Monuments, is the First Complete catalog of virginias monuments, but it is much more than just a catalog. It is a study through those monuments of ideology and meaning and provides a window of what the people who erected them were thinking at the time and wanted to say. Sydor has finished a
Education, a masters in religious studies and masters of divinity and theological studies. So far, we got a museum person, a lawyer, and a you load in. And a theologian. He brings the perspective of a scholar who pays close attention to the power of words. All of the monuments and our collective commemorative landscape have back stories, stories of individuals or groups who decided to write the words on them that we see today. Dr. Sedores 2011 book an illustrated guide to virginias Civil War Monuments is the First Complete catalog of virginias monuments. It is more than a catalog. It is this that he of ideology and meaning and provides a window of what the people who erected them were thinking at the time and wanted to say. Dr. Sedore has finished a similar study of tennessee monuments and is working on another one about mississippi. His wonderful wife patricia tells me that she is a more seen more monuments in more states than anybody else in the union [laughter] mr. Rawls i think tha