Quarrels sparked in Charlottesville as the district court made the decision to remove the Confederate monuments downtown. The Johnny Reb statue stood in front of the district courthouse before it was removed on September 12th after years of complaints about how the Confederate general flaunts oppression rather than historical relevance. 

Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee served as Confederate generals in the civil war, and “Johnny Reb” is a nickname for the common confederate soldier. Statues depicting these three figures were put up between 1909 and 1924, almost fifty years after the civil war ended. The Reb statue went up only a few years after the state of Virginia passed the Jim Crow Constitution (which disenfranchised blacks), and the Jackson and Lee statues were put up in White-only parks right after the commencement of the Klu Klux Klan in Virginia. As Dr. Jalane Schmidt from the University of Virginia said, “This was not a coincidence”.

Some might argue that it’s only appropriate to display statues that exhibit our town’s history of racism, and that removing them isn’t the best use of resources. But these statues were made to commemorate the people who fought for racism and endorsed keeping humans as property. This town has twenty-foot statues that recognize those who slain for the captivity of others, and a 9×16-inch plaque embedded in the ground that represents slaves (which gets stepped on every day). One student wrote, “Obviously we should never forget our past, but we shouldn’t memorialize it unless we memorialize our victims.”

In a poll sent out to the CHS students, more than half of respondents said they support the removal of the Johnny Reb statue. Most agreed that keeping the confederate monuments is racist. One African American respondent has a view with respect to the statues. She wrote, “When I see those statues I see how far we have come.” A different student thinks that “removing them can bring this town together and show what we stand for.” Many think this movement can improve our town’s reputation following the Unite-the-right rally. More importantly, people of color won’t be intimidated by the statues of people who dehumanized their ancestors.

Rising up in numbers to stand up for what’s right will eventually turn the tables in your favor. While protesting isn’t the best idea right now due to the pandemic, you can make a difference by watching the news, following threads on social media, and actively fighting for what’s right. Voice your opinion, it matters.