On Confederate monuments (Washington Post, 2017)
Being faculty at the University of Mississippi means constantly being reminded, confronted with, and asked to reflect on the history and imagery of the Confederacy.
In this short perspective piece, I reflect on the presence of Confederate monuments in public spaces across the country.
A selected excerpt:
I talk with black folks a lot — black residents of the Mississippi Delta, where I collect oral histories; black students at the University of Mississippi where I am an assistant professor; and, on most days, my older brother.
“The Charlottesville thing don’t really do nothing for me,” he recounted in a recent conversation. “What’s happening in Charlottesville, that’s not shocking. That’s been happening. Whether a statue is standing or a flag is waving, it’s been happening. They just showing it on the news now.”
