Confederate monuments face scrutiny in Baltimore (MD)
By: LISA SNOWDEN-MCCRAY | 1 HOUR AGO
... “Our research has been driven by a series of questions,” Pousson said. “Who built the monuments and statues we are discussing today? Why did they choose to honor Confederate rebellion when Maryland remained part of the union during the civil war? What meaning did the monuments hold when they were first erected? What meaning do these monuments hold today?
“We can look back to a moment in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century when popular publications, exhibitions, reunions, parades and memorials all worked together to transform the story of the Confederacy from a slave holders’ rebellion into a noble lost cause fought by brave and honorable men for a cause of state’s rights.” Loewen told commission members that the untruths about the Confederate cause continue today. He said schoolbooks further advance the cause of “neo-confederates” — people who think of the Confederacy as a source of pride.
“Leaving these statues in important places conveys…to everybody…that we value the Confederacy — that they were just as right as the Union,” Loewen said ...
Loewen told commission members that he recommended that the statues be removed. He said that doing so in Montgomery County “lowered the decibel level” in the conversation about race and history ...
http://spokesman-recorder.com/2015/11/10/confederate-monuments-face-scrutiny-baltimore/
