Stone monuments are nothing new. God told the Hebrews to build memorials out of stone as reminders of how God brought them out of difficult times and preserved their heritage. Today, there is mass controversy surrounding the monuments erected to those who fought for the Confederate States of America. The monuments stand as tributes to those who gave their lives to preserve their way of life in the South. These men left families and land—gave blood and soil—to defend their right to a free economy and free trade. They were convinced they had the right to own land and humans and that no government should be able to take away those rights.
Here is the problem. Prior to the Civil War, white people considered Africans “wild men” akin to beast and were portrayed as feeling less pain, did not have family bonds, and thus did not need any education. This lack of humanness, justified white people’s mistreatment of Africans and allowed whites to deny them necessities—like nutritional food, education, healthcare, housing and freedom. White people did all they could to justify their “right” to own black and brown bodies.
To preserve this right, leaders of the South declared war on their own countrymen, went against the established government, attempted to separate from the union, and committed treason. After four bloody years, the Confederate soldiers surrendered. To unite the country, our government did whatever they could do to appease the South.
The former enslaved Africans—allegedly for whom the battle was waged—were a mere afterthought for our government. There was little attempt to assist people in establishing life post-enslavement. Reconstruction soon turned to deconstruction.
“Slave Codes” were simply reworded as “Black Codes” which made vagrancy illegal and relegated black men to labor intensive jobs without being paid a livable wage. There is so much more to this than this space allows.
Today, there is a battle to keep or move memorials erected in honor of those who gave their lives on a treasonous battlefield while denying humanity to human beings God created. It is said that liberals are trying to erase history and that these monuments represent “heritage not hate”.
Yes, the monuments represent heritage—a heritage of terror. Forcing the acceptance of monuments erected to those who fought to preserve an environment of terror is an act of treason in and of itself and goes against the professed ideology of America.
Removing the monuments of stone from public spaces is so much easier than removing the monuments of stone bound up in the hearts of white Americans. If we are to truly be the “land of the free” we must first be the home of the brave. White people must be brave enough to allow God’s love to take our “hearts of stone” and turn them into “hearts of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). Once the stones are removed from our hearts we will be brave enough to remove the stones from the land.