JOHN LLOYD: From Cecil John Rhodes to General Robert E Lee, statues are under fire
'Though set in marble or bronze, meant to last and impress through the ages, statues everywhere now show themselves to be porous, forced open to controversy'
Statues live. The Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville certainly does. The majority of Americans, including his fellow Republicans, disapprove of Donald Trump’s defense of Confederate monuments and his tardiness in condemning the white supremacists whose protests against a decision to remove the Lee statue led to the violence that killed a woman demonstrating against them. White House aides leaked their anguish to the press, Republican politicians explicitly criticized Trump’s stance, military leaders did so implicitly and Trump disbanded two presidential advisory councils after several CEOs quit the groups in protest over his Charlottesville remarks. Mayors in several cities, including Dallas, Lexington in Kentucky and Jacksonville in Florida said they were preparing to remove Confederate statues. In Durham, North Carolina, protestors lassoed a century-old statue of a Confederate soldier and pulled it off its plinth; several were later arrested. The mayor of Baltimore, Catherine...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.