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Vol. 79/No. 28 August 10, 2015
Letters
Facts on racist memorial
Many readers of the Militant were struck by the odiousness of the
inscription on the Battle of Liberty Place monument in New Orleans
[depicted in the July 27 issue]. I did a little cursory research on the
monument to try to learn about its history. It, like the Confederate
battle flag, has been a focus of struggles that have burst forth several
times in recent decades. But what is not clear to me is whether the
inscription, as captured in the photo that appeared in the Militant,
remains part of the monument.
An article on the New Orleans Historical website says, “In addition to
planting the marker in a less obtrusive location, the city removed the
plaque championing white supremacy and affixed a new plaque
commemorating the Metropolitan Police casualties, several of whom were
African-American.”
Many readers of the Militant will have the impression that the monument
as it exists today continues to display the inscription hailing white
supremacy. It is not clear to me that it does. Of course this does not
change the character of what this is a monument to, or how it has been a
rallying point of white supremacists.
David Rosenfeld
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Editor’s note: Rosenfeld is correct. The photo and caption as they
appeared don’t tell the whole story. The inscription glorifying white
supremacy, which was added to the monument in the 1930s, was covered
with a slab of granite in 1981 after attempts to have it taken down
failed. The entire monument was removed to a warehouse during street
repairs in 1989.
It was reinstalled in a less prominent location as a result of a suit by
supporters of David Duke, a white supremacist, anti-Semite and former
leader of the Ku Klux Klan who served in the Louisiana legislature from
1989 to 1992. Duke organized a rededication ceremony in 1993, which was
protested by Black rights supporters. These facts underscore why fights
around the Confederate battle flag and racist monuments are part of the
class struggle today.
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