Removal of Confederate memorials: Why it is important

As the racial injustice climate in the U.S. continues to simmer, the removal of Confederate reminders, such as monuments and school names, has become the talk of the nation.

According to CNN, more than 240 schools in the U.S. are named after a Confederate leader. Arizona is home to six Confederate monuments.

Arizona was never truly a part of the Confederacy, according to the Phoenix New Times. A few southerners who claimed the Confederacy settled down in the lower half of the state during the Civil War, until they were outnumbered by Union supporters. However, the memorials were not erected until 1943, almost 80 years after the Civil War.

Many historians, like James Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association, have pointed out that the memorials were built when racial tensions were high in an agenda to further white supremacy. He said it's not “a matter of now more than ever” as to removing the memorials, but rather that it's always been necessary.
“It's been necessary to remove these memorials from the moment they were erected. It's more possible now because of increased understanding among a broader proportion of the population of the damage these memorials do to civic culture and the struggle against racism,” Grossman said.

Given the racial injustice that Black Americans still face to this day, with prime examples including the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, groups and community leaders are rallying to eradicate oppressive artifacts. Many who have been fighting for the removal of Confederate memorials for years, again pushed Gov. Doug Ducey to remove the monuments earlier this year.

Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s Secretary of State, called for the removal of a monument dedicated to the Confederacy outside the State Capitol, located in Wesley Bolin Plaza, earlier this year.

“Even if the disgraceful history of the confederacy were not enough to merit removal of the monument, we can all agree that it is undeserving to sit among the honorable individuals and causes that are recognized in the Plaza. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Navajo Code Talkers, the Granite Mountain Hotshots— surely those who took up arms in treason and in defense of slavery do not belong amongst those who have given us so much,” Hobbs said in an open letter to Andy Tobin, director of the Arizona Department of Administration.

The monument was “gifted” to the state from The United Daughters of the Confederacy in the 1960s. Ducey’s administration responded to the backlash by granting the removal of the Confederate monument on July 22, 2020, at the request of the organization.

“These monuments were gifted to the state and are now in need of repair but due to the current political climate, we believe it is unwise to repair them where they are located,” the leaders of the Arizona chapter wrote to the head of the Arizona Department of Administration.

Many people were shocked to finally see such monuments being removed from public property. However, groups like the NAACP have been pushing for the removal of these monuments since 2017.

Kiana Sears, vice president of the East Valley NAACP, said that this isn’t about “partisanship” but about “morality” on removing the monuments.

“I believe that we are at a time where our next generation is being more vocal and being recognized more than ever. The younger generation is actually telling us that they want a better future. They want the mistakes from the past to be eradicated and removed, and we see that verbally, by podcast, and through demonstrations.

“They will no longer put up with the handed-down legacy of racism and discrimination because it isn’t the America they are comfortable residing in. It doesn’t reflect their values,” Sears said.

The memorials include Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza outside the Arizona Capitol, Jefferson Highway Marker on U.S. 60 at Peralta Road, Battle of Picacho Pass monuments in Picacho Peak Park, the Arizona Confederate veterans monument at Greenwood Cemetery, the Arizona Confederate Veterans memorial at Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery, and the Confederate graves at Dragoon Springs monument.