There are currently more than 700 Confederate monuments in our country.

These monuments were built to honor politicians and generals who were so committed to the institution of slavery that they were willing to fight a bloody civil war in order to preserve it. These individuals do not deserve to be honored with public monuments.

Many of the Confederate monuments were erected between 1890 and 1920, a period of backlash against post-Civil War Reconstruction when freed slaves were allowed to vote and run for elective office. The message of the monuments was clear: white southerners were proud of those who perpetrated the Civil War and they were not about to allow former slaves to have equal rights, political, legal or otherwise.

Other monuments to Confederate “heroes” were erected in the 1950s and 1960s, in reaction to the Civil Rights movement.

The Confederacy does need to be remembered, in the same way that the reign of the Nazis in Germany needs to be remembered. These evil institutions need to be remembered so that future generations can understand how they came about and how to make sure that they never happen again.

In Germany, there are no public monuments to Nazis. The people of that country understand that Nazis do not deserve honor, they deserve condemnation. The history of the rise of the Nazis is taught in schools and in museums so that people can learn how to avoid any recurrence of this evil regime.

We in America need to follow the German example. Slavery was evil, and those who perpetrated a war to preserve it should not be honored with monuments.

The proper places for people to learn about the evils of slavery and the Confederacy are schools and historical museums. Current and future generations need to know the whole story of this terrible part of American history.

Dolores Minks

Buchanan