What has been so wrongheaded with the removal of Confederate statues in cities across the South over the past several years is the useless attempt to whitewash history.
Whether or not we want to admit it, the country’s internal struggle over slavery played out in our region 160 years ago. States seceded from the union. A war was fought. Tens of thousands died. Slaves were freed. The country reunited.
As we have often suggested, the best way for Southern cities to illustrate these complex stories is to provide perspective. Don’t remove that statue of Robert E. Lee. Place a sign by it with more context. Or erect a statue beside it of abolitionists Harriet Tubman or Sojourner Truth or a modern civil rights leader.
But for many places, that time is past. What’s done is done. The attempt to erase history has occurred.
In Chattanooga, though, a historic bridge will feature the type of perspective we have in mind.