Rethink The Statues, To Preserve A More Perfect Union

The University of Texas' ongoing battle against homogeny continues next semester with the decision of university president William Powers to create an advisory committee in order to tackle the controversy of the South Mall statues of Confederate icons, an issue that has plagued the college community for years. The Statesman reminded us yesterday that this is a debate that will surely hang around for sometime, until something is done.

The South Mall is the most iconic area on campus, popular with students for its plush grass and post-adolescent, idealistic feel and frequented by tourists because of great views of both the Tower and the Capitol. If you haven't been there lately, the lawn is framed by seven statues, most with links to the South:

Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States
Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the U.S.
Albert Sidney Johnston, General of the Confederate Army
James Stephen Hogg, First Native Governor of Texas
Robert E. Lee, Chief General of the Confederate Military
John H. Reagan, Postmaster General of the Confederate States
George Washington, Cherry Tree Lumberjack

Even the Littlefield Fountain, just south of the mall has an inscription reading, "To the men and women of the Confederacy who fought with valor and suffered with fortitude that states rights be maintained."

Different resolutions are currently up for consideration--moving the statues to a local museum, rearranging them to relay less emphasis or simply adding plaques to the statues themselves. Other ideas, more subtle--and with less of an impact--are already in the works, like the Cesar Chavez, Ghandi or Barabara Jordan statues currently being designed.

Whatever you think of the statues or their place on the university's campus, the concern and uncertainty of their future is real and is striking a deep chord with people inside and out of the campus community--the fervor on both sides of the issue is hot and is bound to gain steam, but what do you think?

Image courtesy of eyelovelemurs.

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By patrickdentler in News on December 28, 2006 4:32 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

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Stew

Please let us end up with a statue that shows 3 confederate soldiers, one white, one black, and one hispanic, then we can all be happy.

Jacqueline

Barbara Jordan qualifies as an instrumental leader of Texas who honored the state of Texas through her service first in the State Capitol, and then as representative of our great state in Washington DC. Perhaps some may have even forgotten her service to the University of Texas by sharing her brilliant mind with students when she was finished in DC. Of course she deserves a statue. The problem is they cannot seem find an artist who can capture such a large spirit!

kenneth

What about Robert E. Lee Road right off of Barton Springs...?

Don't forget about Lee Elementary, in one of Austin's most liberal neighborhoods (Hancock, just north of UT).

pd

What about Robert E. Lee Road right off of Barton Springs...?

pel

The Confederacy is a part of the history of Texas and the statues honor those individuals who were dedicated to the cause of Texas in either a direct or indirect fashion. Both Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis were officers in the United States army in the war with Mexico, which had everything to do with Texas. To deny these facts or try to shove them under the rug smacks of historical revisionism.

And, for the record, Robert E. Lee commanded Texas units (Terry's Texas Rangers, anyone), was against secession, and for the emancipation of slaves under the Confederacy.

Those individuals are more relevant to Texas than George Washington, but nobody is clamoring for his statue to be taken down. And, if I recall correctly, he a) owned slaves, b) never publically criticized the institution of slavery, and c) actively prevented his own slaves from obtaining freedom when opportunities existed for them to legally obtain it.

Ghandi has absolutely nothing to do with Texas and it is ridiculous for a statue of him to be erected.

If any statues are removed, or if new ones are erected, they should honor the instrumental leaders of Texas and its founders. To my knowledge, none exist on campus. I would much rather see a statue of Mirabeau Lamar or Stephen F. Austin or William B. Travis on the campus of the flagship state university in the capital of Texas than one of Barbara Jordan or Cesar Chavez.

Steve

Stew: "Y'all" lost. Get over it. Puss.

-Yankee transplant

kenneth

The R.E.Lee & Jeff Davis statues should be removed. They have zero connection to Texas (except I think Lee was stationed in S.A. for a short time) and are a slap in the face to minorities.

Reagan & Johnston should remain because they're closely connected to Austin, so that would appease the "preserve our heritage" crowd. Maybe they could replace Lee & Davis with statues of Owen Wilson & Matthew McConaughey.

CBOT

The statues should be taken down. They are a slap in the face to every person of color in the UT student body and the Austin community.

The Civil War was not about states' rights. It was about slavery. The Confederacy did not have a "decent overall message" -- its leaders wanted to continue slavery for economic reasons. The fact that people are continuing to be apologists for the most shameful aspect of US history is disgusting. While the Confederacy should obviously be studied, keeping statues that were clearly meant to lionize the persons depicted on the main lawn of our flagship university is reprehensible.

eliz. s.

Hmm. Woodrow Wilson didn't like the idea of women's suffrage (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/w..., but that's not reason enough to get rid of a statue of him.

Texas' Confederate history continues to be a touchy issue. I went to a high school in Austin named after a Confederate general and with a mural of a Confederate battle scene in the cafeteria, and as far as I know, it's still there, tacky as all get out.

Ultimately, I don't have an issue with these statues. Don't forget, there's a rather large statue at the Capitol dedicated to our "Confederate heroes". Certainly I would prefer that these statues celebrating the confederacy weren't there in the first place, but it seems that it would cost a lot of money to do something else with them.

hm

If I remember right, the reason the statues exist are because Littlefield (or maybe it was Brackenridge) made them a requirement in his sizable donations to the early university.

They're a piece of history. It's not like anyone is saluting them. I mean - Woodrow Wilson? The Postmaster? They're more curiousities than anything.

Joel

I have been a student at UT for too many years and could give a shit about those statues. No one actually pays them any attention. Those people are all dead anyway. Fuck 'em.

damnations_delights

What about Cher?

God, the University-State agenda is so transparent. Who the hell's doing their PR??

Stew

As the Littlefield Fountain says:

"To the men and women of the Confederacy who fought with valor and suffered with fortitude that states rights be maintained,"

the Civil War was about state's rights!

There are plenty of people we idolize around the world and in Austin that were associated with bad things, but have a decent overall message.

Tear down the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue because he was a coke-head, tear down the MLK statue because he was a socialist, or tear down the Robert E. Lee statue because he was fighting for a cause that amongst thousands of other issues, would have paved the way for a state decision on slavery and not a national one.

Despite the faults of these "statuized" people, we must be able to honor our history and the people who made waves in the past, whether they had skeletons in their closets or not.