Scott Jennings: ‘Honoring the Confederate Dead Is Different than Endorsing Their Cause’

EXCERPT:

JENNINGS: “That was my next point. So, they had the reconciliation idea. This statue is part of that. But obviously, the imagery and some of the way it‘s depicted, I mean, you can easily see why someone in 2026 would call this a racist depiction. So, I actually think there‘s some complication with the monument itself, but I think it‘s important to remember that it goes back to a time when the United States was still trying to pull itself back together after the civil war. My view is, is that honoring the Confederate dead is different than endorsing their cause. I think Americans are smart enough to handle a full depiction of our history, and I think we ought to follow the law. And so, those are my sort of three ideas for how this ultimately ought to be handled. I would point out that Arlington itself was segregated, I think, until 1948.”