In light of the removal of a Confederate monument at Madison’s Forest Hills Cemetery, the campus community has expressed mixed concerns about what this action may suggest for how the city’s history is told.
Soglin ordered the removal of the plaque in mid-August and reiterated it was the correct decision in a statement.
“The monument … is not a Civil War monument,” Soglin said in a statement. “It is a slab of propaganda paid for by a racist organization on public property.”
The removal of the plaque is a way to acknowledge and respect the differences of how people remember history, Soglin emphasized.
Amy Shea, Madison Parks spokesperson, said many members of the community have expressed concerned that the removal of historical monuments will manipulate the way Madison’s history is told.
The city has received both positive and negative comments in response to the extraction of the plaque.
Michael Edmonds, director of programs and outreach for the Wisconsin Historical Society, also said he has heard people “express displeasure.”
“From a historian’s perspective, events like this are never just double-sided,” Edmonds explained. “It is our role to create forums where every point of view can come out, where the community as a whole can grow from discussing these things.”
The removal of a statue will not erase history, Edmonds said. Instead, the site is a good opportunity to tell a “more complicated” history not only about the graves there, but about our nation.
University of Wisconin’s College Republicans spokesperson Emelia Rohl said they support public decisions about the removal of Confederate monuments, but do not support the unilateral decision made without open discussion and debate.
Echoing a similar sentiment, UW’s College Democrats press secretary Claudia Koechell agreed with the mayor’s decision to take down the plaque, stating it would not rewrite history, but rather correct mistakes that the nation has made.
“We are a city that welcomes everyone, and displaying a racist monument that honors a rebellion fighting for the enslavement of others does not represent the values we hold,” Koechell said.
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Shea said a larger monument may be removed and is pending review of the Board of Park Commissioners, City Council and Landmarks Commission.
Soglin explained the city would reinstall a marker containing the deceased’s names, but it will stop short of commemorating their acts of heroism.
“We will honor our history. We will respect the dead. We make sure that our legacy is to tell the truth and to remove evidence of racist historical revisionism,” Soglin said in the statement. “We will use the story of these monuments to tell the truth about a century of Jim Crow, economic oppression and those like the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Klu Klux Klan who spread their lies far beyond the boundaries of the rebellious states.”
