GUEST COLUMN: Retain monument as part of history but relocate it

Dear Mayor Fox and Members of the Cape Girardeau City Council:

I write on behalf of the Kellerman Foundation to offer a suggestion concerning the proposed removal of the Confederate monument from Ivers Square. According to our bylaws, the Kellerman Foundation is organized to preserve the history and culture of southeast Missouri, especially through the protection, preservation and maintenance of architectural structures and historical artifacts in our region. The criterion for that protection, preservation and maintenance is, of course, the historical significance of the property in question. We seek to preserve our history, so that we will learn from it.

The Confederate monument was erected in 1931 by the local members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, all prominent women in our community, including Mrs. Louis Houck, who served as chairperson. They were all descendants of soldiers who served in the Confederate forces during the Civil War, and they sought to honor the memory of those soldiers. The timing of the commemoration was all the more important because in 1931, some 70 years after the beginning of the War, only a handful of the soldiers still survived. For that reason alone there should be no doubt about the historical significance of the monument.

Now the City's Commission on Historic Preservation has recommended that the monument be removed and never again be placed on public property. As we understand the Commission's position, the monument is a symbol of slavery, racism and white supremacy, and a glorification of Jim Crow and the South's "Lost Cause."

Although the monument can be seen in that light, we believe it also stands for something more. As a monument to young men lost in the War, it can also be seen as a unifier and not a divider -- a monument of inclusion rather than exclusion --a monument that represents the reconciliation of the North and South. Indeed, it is a monument that honors even those lives lost in the War where there is disagreement with their cause.

Perhaps unbeknown to the Commission, the dedication of the monument in November of 1931 was met with much praise from the community. At the ceremony, the Municipal Band played "America" and "The Star Spangled Banner," and among the several speakers were State Senator Russell Dearmont, and the mayor, Edward Drum, who accepted the monument on behalf of the City. The president of St. Vincent's College and the pastor of Centenary Methodist Church gave an invocation and benediction, respectively. And all rejoiced!

The Southeast Missourian of Nov. 24 editorialized on the event in this way:

Cape Girardeau has never had a more beautiful occasion than the dedication of the U.D.C. memorial ... Cape Girardeau now has two memorials, one to the heroic dead of the Northern forces and one for the heroes of the Southern cause ... A more kindly and considerate address could not have been given by Commander Rice A. Pierce of the United Confederate Veterans of Tennessee ... Those of the North who heard his address will love the memorial as much as those of the South, and the U.D.C. memorial in Cape Girardeau stands for the heroes of all wars, with the appeal that there be no more wars but that there be peace on earth and good will toward all.

In view of the history of the Confederate monument, it should stand not as a celebration of slavery and racism and the Old South, but instead as a celebration of the final reconciliation of our once-divided citizenry.

For those who still see the monument as a symbol of slavery, racism and the Old South, it should not be relegated to a warehouse where it will never again be seen.

Perhaps it is now more important that it should remain on public lands. In this way it will be able remind us of the evil of slavery and racism and why it was necessary to wage a bitter Civil War to combat that evil. Though that history is painful, we must learn from it, not destroy it.

It bears mention, too, that even if it can be said that the Daughters of the Confederacy had ulterior or hidden motives behind the erection of the monument in 1931 -- that is, a sentimental and nostalgic admiration for the "Lost Cause" -- they now expressly disavow the supposed underlying bases for that sentiment. According to their President General, "[The U.D.C.] totally denounces any individual or group that promotes racial divisiveness or white supremacy. And we call on these people to cease using Confederate symbols for their abhorrent and reprehensible purposes." This, too, is a strong gesture of reconciliation.

All that said, we recognize that the current location of the monument is an added aggravation to those who see it as offensive. We suggest that the monument be moved to an appropriate site in the Old Lorimier Cemetery -- our historic public cemetery -- where more than a thousand Union and Confederate soldiers are buried. As a memorial to the deceased Confederate veterans, perhaps this would have been the best location in the first place. We also strongly recommend that signage should be added adjacent to the monument explaining its historical context. In this way, the monument can better stand for its historical significance rather than any perceived injustice.

For these reasons, we respectfully urge the Council to retain the Confederate monument as an integral and indispensable part of our City's rich history, but to relocate it in the more appropriate venue of the Old Lorimier Cemetery. Thank you for your consideration.

Dr. Frank Nickell is the chairman of the board of The Kellerman Foundation For Historic Preservation in Cape Girardeau.