Chapter 27 Flashcards
What was the significance of the Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, Virginia?
It symbolized reverence for the Confederacy and the dominant caste. Its presence—and the violent rally it provoked—highlighted the ongoing veneration of white supremacy.
What event in 2017 brought global attention to the Robert E. Lee statue?
The deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, where marchers carried Nazi and Confederate symbols and one counterprotester, Heather Heyer, was killed.
What did the Confederate monuments represent, according to Mayor Mitch Landrieu?
“Political weapons” that sanitized and distorted the truth of the Confederacy and symbolized terror, death, and enslavement.
What is “psychic trolling” in the context of Confederate monuments?
Forcing Black Americans to live among statues honoring those who fought to enslave them—a form of continued psychological oppression.
What loophole in the 13th Amendment allowed for continued subjugation after slavery?
Slavery was still permitted as punishment for a crime, which incentivized criminalizing Black people.
What was Robert E. Lee’s view on slavery, and what did he do to enslaved people?
He saw slavery as a burden for slaveholders and justified it as “instruction.” He violently punished enslaved people who tried to escape, including having them whipped and their wounds washed with brine.
Why was it difficult to remove Confederate monuments in New Orleans?
Contractors faced threats and violence (e.g., firebombed car), and workers had to wear masks and conceal identities due to safety risks.
What was significant about the crew that removed Confederate statues in New Orleans?
They were African-American—risking their lives to remove symbols of white supremacy.
How does Germany approach its past differently than the U.S. with Confederate symbols?
Germany has numerous, somber memorials acknowledging the victims of Nazism and no public monuments glorifying Nazi leaders.
What is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and how does it contrast with U.S. Confederate monuments?
A vast, somber field of concrete blocks in Berlin meant to reflect on genocide—not glorify perpetrators. It invites solemn contemplation rather than celebratory remembrance.
What are “Stolpersteine” or “stumbling stones”?
Small brass plaques placed outside homes across Europe to honor individual Holocaust victims where they last lived freely.
