25.03.22 Black Lives Matter, Confederate Monuments, and MAGA
25.03.22 Black Lives Matter, Confederate Monuments, and MAGA
When I heard that the Black Lives Matter Plaza was going to be painted over because MAGA was offended, I started to think about why. Then their defense of Confederate Monuments came to mind.
Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Confederate monuments represent two contrasting narratives in American history and society. BLM is focused on racial justice and equality. Confederate monuments symbolize a legacy of slavery and white supremacy.
According to the United States Constitution, Article 3, Section 3, "treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted." The Confederacy met this standard of treason.
The mission and vision of the Black Lives Matter Movement is to create a world where Black people thrive, free from systemic oppression. It seeks to heal past injustices, reimagine the present, and invest in Black futures through policy changes, community investments, and cultural preservation. It's core Principles are diversity, restorative justice, Black affirmation, globalism, collective value, and empathy. It also supports women, and transgender people The Black Lives Matter movement has sparked national conversations about police brutality, systemic racism, and the need for social justice reforms.
As for Confederate monuments, their historical context is usually part of Jim Crow America. Most were put up in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were not designed so much to honor the past, but to promote current white supremacy with the backdrop of "the Lost Cause." They were used to intimidate African Americans, reinforce racial hierarchies, and segregation. An equestrian statue of a Confederate general in front of a courthouse or capitol building is about power and who was in charge. The Lost Cause narrative tries to delete the African American perspective from the historical narrative. This is what Trump's war on DEI is attempting.
After Brown v. Board of Education, as a show of “massive resistance,” segregationists revived Confederate imagery. The Confederate battle flag was incorporated into the Georgia state flag in 1956, a Confederate battle flag was flown over the state capitol building in South Carolina in 1961, and new monuments were created. Stone Mountain, purchased by the state of Georgia in 1958 became a rallying point for proponents of segregation. In a 2016 report, the Southern Poverty Law Center said that the country’s more than 700 monuments were part of roughly 1,500 symbols of the Confederacy in public spaces.
Black Lives Matter seeks to dismantle systemic racism and promote equality, while Confederate monuments embody a history of white supremacy and racial oppression.
The Black Lives Matter street mural in Washington, DC was targeted by US Rep. Andrew Clyde, a Republican from Georgia. It was painted in 2020 after federal officers attacked Washington, DC peaceful protestors with tear gas to clear them out so Trump could get to St. John's Church for a photo op (and held the Bible upside down). The mural was unveiled on June 5, 2020, the birthday of Breonna Taylor, a Black medical worker who was killed in March 2020 during a botched raid by police officers in Louisville, Ky. Trump's reaction would have pleased every Confederate from the Civil War. "The incompetent Mayor of Washington, D.C., @MayorBowser, who's budget is totally out of control and is constantly coming back to us for "handouts", is now fighting with the National Guard, who saved her from great embarrassment over the last number of nights. If she doesn't treat these men and women well, then we'll bring in a different group of men and women." He attacks the mayor, who is a black woman, his typical response to anyone, especially a woman or minority, that he doesn't like.
Clyde introduced legislation to withhold federal funding from Washington, D.C. unless the city removed references to "Black Lives Matter" from public materials and renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza. He described the Black Lives Matter movement as "corruption and division," which critics interpreted as an attempt to erase the movement's significance and undermine racial justice efforts. This is the same guy who voted against the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act that would make lynching a federal hate crime.
Trump has made several statements regarding Confederate memorials, often defending their preservation as part of American history and heritage. He has consistently argued against the removal of Confederate monuments, describing such actions as "sad" and "so foolish" equating the removal of Confederate statues with the potential removal of monuments to American founders like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson
Trump has framed the preservation of Confederate monuments as a matter of preserving American history arguing that removal would erase history, rather than allowing people to learn from it.
Trump has made several statements supporting or defending aspects of Confederate viewpoints. After the Charlottesville, VA riot in 2017, Trump sparked outrage by saying there were "very fine people on both sides" during a clash between white supremacists and anti-racist protesters. He defended the right to protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue, praising Lee as a "great general."
What has Trump said about the Black Lives Matter movement? In July 2020, Trump referred to the Black Lives Matter movement as a "symbol of hate" after New York City decided to paint "Black Lives Matter" on Fifth Avenue outside Trump Tower. He suggested it would antagonize police and denigrate the luxury avenue.
In September 2020, Trump claimed the Black Lives Matter movement was "hurting the Black community" and criticized its ideology and tactics as destructive. He frequently referred to Black Lives Matter protesters as "thugs," "anarchists," and "terrorists," contrasting sharply with his more sympathetic language towards his own supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol in January 2021.
In conjunction with the Black Lives Matter movement to shed light on the diversity of United States History, Trump criticized educational initiatives like the 1619 Project, which he described as "toxic propaganda," and opposed teaching critical race theory in schools, framing these efforts as divisive and un-American.
Comparing President Donald Trump's statements about the Confederacy and Black Lives Matter reveals stark contrasts in his approach to these issues.
Trump's Statements on the Confederacy consistently defends Confederate symbols, including statues and flags, as part of American history. He has argued that removing these symbols would erase history and has compared Confederate figures like Robert E. Lee to founding fathers like George Washington. His defense of Confederate symbols has been seen as a strategy to appeal to his conservative base, particularly in Southern states, while framing the display of Confederate flags as a freedom of speech issue
Trump's Statements on Black Lives Matter is critical and dismissive. He calls it a "symbol of hate," that it promotes violence against police, while questioning the motives of the protesters, implying they are ignorant, stupid, and unamerican. Those are also his go to for anyone who opposes him.
Trump seems to want to Make America Great Again by turning the clock back to either the 1950s or 1850s, when white men ruled, making sure everyone was terrorized, threatened, beaten down, or eliminated, never be a threat to their hierarchy. Trump prefers the past and has no vision for an inclusive future.
This blog used AI as a research tool. The thoughts and ideas are my own
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