America's Monuments | The Trouble With Confederate Statues | 7

American History Tellers

Wondery

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, History, Education For Kids

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2021

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In recent years, there’s been a movement to remove statues of Confederate leaders and other monuments that some see as celebrations of America’s racist history. But does taking down these statues help address the racial inequities that plague our nation to this day? Or is it just erasing history?

In his forthcoming book How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, author Clint Smith tackles these and other questions around what our public monuments say -- or, sometimes, fail to say -- about America’s past. He and Lindsay discuss such landmarks as Monticello, the Whitney Plantation, and the Statue of Liberty, and explore the different meanings they have for different Americans, especially in our present moment of racial reckoning.

For more on Clint Smith: https://www.clintsmithiii.com/

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to American History Tellers add free on Amazon Music,
0:05.6	download the app today.
0:09.0	Imagine it's a humid afternoon in September 1924.
0:21.2	You're in an artist studio near Atlanta, Georgia, surrounded by models of a Confederate memorial
0:27.4	that is being carved into the face of Stone Mountain.
0:30.9	You're an assistant sculptor down here from your home in New York to work on a big project
0:35.1	with your boss, Gutsson Borglum.
0:38.4	You scratch out some calculations.
0:40.9	Difficult work getting the dimensions right as he translates small plaster models into
0:45.0	a carving over 1200 feet long, and has been made all the more challenging by Borglum's
0:50.5	sudden absence.
0:52.0	A few days ago he packed up and left in pursuit of his next commission.
0:56.0	A monument you hear is going to be even bigger than Stone Mountain.
1:02.8	You look up to see an elderly woman walk into the studio.
1:06.3	You recognize her as a member of the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy,
1:11.0	one of Stone Mountain's main stakeholders.
1:13.2	Well, please excuse the mess, ma'am, but how can I help you?
1:16.8	You extend a hand for the old woman to shake, but she doesn't take it.
1:20.8	Instead, she sweeps her gaze across the piles of papers and tools that littered the dusty floor.
1:26.6	Where is he?
1:27.6	Where is Mr. Borglum?
1:28.6	Mr. Borglum?
	...

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