An African American woman and her daughter were driving past a very prominent statue on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans.
The girl said, "What's that statue up there?"
"Robert E. Lee."
"Mama, who is that?"
"The general who led the Confederates in the Civil War."
"Well, was he fighting for me?"
"No, he wasn't. He was fighting to keep people slaves."
"Then why is he up there?"
(Vignette from the book by Mitch Landrieu, IN THE SHADOW OF STATUES, A WHITE SOUTHERNER CONFRONTS HISTORY)
No comments:
Post a Comment