Jack Christian and his brother Warren Christian, are the great-great-grandsons of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and in a letter to Richmond Mayor Levar Stone stated that the removal of "overt symbols of white racism and white supremacy" is "long overdue."
Christian told the Associated Press that is very open to the idea of the statues on Richmond's Monument Avenue including that of his great-great-grandfather's should be put in a museum. At first, he believed that adding an explanation to why they were constructed in the first place would ease tensions. However, the violence in Charlottesville helped push him and his kin forward with the removal of the monuments. The statues "were constructed to be markers of white supremacy. They were constructed to make black people fearful," Christian said. "I can only imagine what persons of color who have to walk and drive by those every morning think and feel."
While Christian is proud of his great-great grandfather, he says his actions to do not represent himself or his brother. The letter to the mayor is an attempt to make that clear.
"While we are not ashamed of our great-great grandfather, we are ashamed to benefit from white supremacy while our black family and friends suffer. We are ashamed of the monument," the brothers wrote in their letter.
Baltimore's mayor had their pro-confederacy statues removed in the darkness of the night, and NYC governor Cuomo says the figures in CUNY schools will be taken down.
Do you feel the monuments should be eliminated?
Source: nydailynews.com
