Christopher Columbus Statues Essay

How should we honor history? Where should we stand in the debate over memorials? These the questions that float to the surface when Gov. Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina signed a bill into law that ordered the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the Capitol grounds. Michael I. Niman author of As Confederate Flags Fall, Columbus Statues Stand Tall and Ernest B. Ferguson author of The End of History write regarding the question, what decisions should be taken against the offending statues and memorials that remain across the United States. Niman believes all offending statues should be removed, but I believe Ferguson idea is much better, we need to have dialogue for a better solution.
Michael I. Niman a professor of journalism and critical

Niman believes offensive statues and memorials should be taken down. Therefore he thinks Christopher Columbus statues should face the same fate as the Confederate flags in the South. He argues that Christopher Columbus statues should not be honored because they symbolize racism. Niman states, “After Eastern Europeans demonstrated how statues, in their case hundreds of statues of Lenin, can be torn down, our Columbus statues continue to stand tall as enduring symbols of racism, beyond the reach of change.” He thinks Christopher Columbus statues should be torn down, similar to what people in Eastern Europe did to the hundreds of Lenin statues, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Niman furthermore believes that “His most significant contributions to history was as the father of the transatlantic slave trade, who presided over a brutal reign of murder and rape shortly after arriving in the new world.” He explains that unlike what we know, Christopher Columbus is actually a

Furgurson explains he has more experience in dealing with this problem. For instance “I qualify four times over for membership in the Sons of Confederate Veterans, vigorous defenders of their heritage and its symbols. Because I’d written Civil War history.” He explains that he has more experience in dealing with this situation than others because he has written Civil War History. He gives an example of how once he was invited 20 years ago to speak to the SCV camp in Alexandria. In his talk, he recalled his great-grandfather who died of smallpox in the Yankee prison at Fort Delaware, and the people at the SCV camp were impressed. Then he told them that the Confederate battle flag was a provocation and that it should be retired to the museum. Furgurson than bringing other people's opinions such New York Times editorialist Brent Staples. Who strongly supports removing statues of villains like Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest, a postwar organizer of the Klan. There Furgurson comes to conclusion, he responds to staples, “But neither the professor nor do I want to start bulldozing without serious reflections on how to honor history. For me, that should mean enshrining other heroes, at least as conspicuously as the ones who now stir such passions.” Furguson thinks instead of destroying statues. We should replace them with heroes we admire today. For instance, the statues standing today were once