On “Erasing History”

One of the dumbest arguments for keeping up the Confederate statues is that we can’t “erase history.” Ever heard of a guy named Hitler? You know, beady eyes, weird facial hair, worst person to ever walk the face of the earth? Has anyone ever forgotten him? Dude has to be the most studied person ever. Did you know the “H” on the bottom right-hand corner of your TV screen when you’re watching WWII documentaries actually stands for “History Channel” and not “Hitler?” You’re welcome. Guess what? Not one statue. Why? Because sane human beings remember historical atrocities to learn from them, not to bask in them. Trust me, black people will never ever ever (forever ever ever?) forget that southern white supremacists fought a literal war to keep us in chains. This “history” shows up in segregated housing, the racial wealth gap, mass incarceration, segregated schools, police brutality, self-hatred, Eurocentric beauty standards, illiteracy, food deserts, frat parties, presidential elections…We should all KNOW this history so that we can do better, but we ain’t going nowhere until we stop celebrating it.