Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Support independent, faith-based journalism. Donate
Search Search this site

Tearing down statues doesn’t erase history

OpinionElla Wall Prichard  |  July 2, 2020

Three years ago, I wrestled with the news that my great-grandmother’s statue memorializing “Uncle Jeff” had been removed by the City of New Orleans from the site where it had stood on Canal Street since 1911.

I know it really wasn’t Grandma Lucy’s statue, and Jefferson Davis wasn’t her biological uncle, but that was part of our family story — a story embellished and distorted and romanticized by women like Lucy Roberts as they created and passed on the myth of the “Lost Cause.”

Was history erased when Davis’ statue came down? No, that was done long ago by those genteel ladies of the monument societies and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, as they quite literally rewrote the history of the South — a revisionist history that was taught in Southern schools, our homes and even our churches through much of the 20th century. It so completely permeated Southern culture — all those romantic novels that glorified life on the plantation before the Civil War by authors like Margaret Mitchell, Frances Parkinson Keyes and Harnett Kane; children’s stories like Uncle Remus and Little Black Sambo; music ranging from the songs of Stephen Collins Foster to “Dixie”; minstrel shows and Al Jolson in blackface; the comedy routines of Amos and Andy. Did anyone raise their voice in protest?

A vandalized Jefferson Davis statue in New Orleans before its removal. Photo by Bart Everson. Used by Creative Commons license.

How many people thought twice about separate water fountains and restrooms, Blacks in the back of the buses and streetcars, schools that were separate but in no way equal? Segregation was all we knew.

No wonder then that so many Southerners cling to the myths. When I recently challenged a friend’s position, she exclaimed in some distress, “You are asking me to reject everything my parents taught me, everything I learned in school and at church.”

That moment came early to me. Actually, a series of transformational moments.

In 1957, I was a junior in high school in Texarkana, Ark., when President Eisenhower sent in troops to integrate Little Rock Central High School, 150 miles up the road. White families in Little Rock sent their children to friends and relatives in Texarkana to attend school, while boys who had joined the National Guard were called out of class to join the troops in Little Rock.

The next summer, our school band was named the official Arkansas band to march in the International Lion’s Club parade in Chicago. On the drive up, we stopped in Little Rock to have our picture taken on the Capitol steps. Some of the boys bought Arkansas state flags and attached them to the sides of the buses. When one of the buses broke down outside Chicago, mechanics refused to repair it because of the Arkansas flag. We were viewed as racists, a new experience for all of us, a rude introduction to a different point of view and to the importance of symbols.

That fall my best friend came home from college completely disillusioned. In only a few months of history classes at nearby Ouachita Baptist College — hardly a bastion of liberalism — she had learned that almost everything she had been taught growing up was a lie. The discovery shook her faith. Whom could she believe?

A year later, I attended a Baptist Student Union retreat for Baylor freshmen at an encampment near Waco. The main speakers were two young BSU summer missionaries: Dan Pratt, a Baylor music major, and Bill Lawson, a young Black preacher who would soon become BSU director at Texas Southern University and would go on to be one of the great pastors and civil rights activists in Houston. At age 92 he spoke recently at George Floyd’s funeral.

Lawson’s presence at the retreat — the first time I ever encountered an African American in other than a service position — changed my life. Baylor professors in history, journalism, sociology and philosophy helped me to see the South more realistically. Missionaries to Africa talked about the young men they led to Christ who wanted to study for the ministry. The missionaries had to say: “I’m sorry. You can’t attend my university. It doesn’t accept Black students.” By my sophomore year, I had shed Lost Cause history.

When I was elected editor of The Lariat, the Baylor student newspaper, I was summoned to the office of President Abner McCall. The former dean of the law school explained the First Amendment to me: freedom of the press belonged to the publisher, not to those who worked there; therefore, I was forbidden to run any stories about integration.

It was awfully hard not to write about integration and civil rights in 1962.

In Austin, University of Texas students were participating in sit-ins at movie theaters. Black churches were burning. A Lariat reporter and photographer drove all night to Oxford, Miss., to cover the enrollment of James Meredith at Ole Miss. The Faculty Senate, Student Congress and The Lariat all called for the integration of the university. A year later, the Baylor Board of Trustees voted to admit Black students. Robert Gilbert and Barbara Walker enrolled at Baylor in fall 1964 and three years later became Baylor’s first Black graduates.

We were so naïve and idealistic. We expected an immediate kumbaya moment when all students would embrace one another and students of color would be welcomed to full participation in all the activities and clubs. We have waited far too long.

Now Baylor, through the recent action of the Board of Regents, joins the call for truth, justice and reconciliation. Finally.

The base of the Jefferson Davis statue in New Orleans after the statue was removed. Photo by Bart Everson. Used by Creative Commons license.

After Davis’ statue came down and it was obvious that it was only one of many Confederate monuments to fall, I wished that it had been the carefully planned work of historians, rather than the expedient action of politicians. The stories the statues tell need to be rewritten factually, in context, not erased. Perhaps Baylor, along with other institutions that proactively acknowledge their history, will have the opportunity to rewrite it fully and accurately before someone else rewrites it for them.

I, like so many other Southerners, had to come to grips with my family story before I could accept a new story of the South and of the nation. Grandma Lucy’s mother had been married previously to Jefferson Davis’ brother. Her uncle’s wife was Davis’ sister and Lucy’s godmother. An 1898 newspaper story announced the formation of the Jefferson Davis Monument Society to raise funds to erect the statue and listed Lucy, its president, as a “niece of Jefferson Davis.”

The widow of a Confederate officer and a founding member of the UDC, by all accounts Lucy did not hate Blacks, but she sure hated the Union. Until her death in 1933, a Confederate flag hung in her living room, Davis’ portrait hung over her mantel, she never said “Yankee” without prefacing it with “damn” and she never stood for the Star-Spangled Banner.

The family thought it was funny. It has taken me a lifetime to recognize the damage attitudes like Lucy’s caused. Jefferson Davis wasn’t a hero. West Point graduate, U.S. soldier and Secretary of War, he took an oath: “I, ____________, appointed a _____________ in the Army of the United States, do solemnly swear, or affirm, that I will bear true allegiance to the United States of America, and that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies or opposers whatsoever, and observe and obey the orders of the President of the United States, and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to the rules and articles for the government of the Armies of the United States.”

Davis wasn’t a hero. He was a traitor.


OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
Tags:racismNew OrleansConfederacymonumentsElla Wall PrichardJefferson Davis
Ella Wall Prichard
More by
Ella Wall Prichard
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • Next BNG free webinar will survey global religious issues and human rights

      News

    • ‘Postcards from Babylon’ documentary tells a better story

      Analysis

    • Christian symbols and sedition at the Capitol: The church has work to do

      Opinion

    • What should pastors do if their members helped incite the Capitol riots?

      Analysis


    Curated

    • Joanne Rogers, widow of ‘Mr. Rogers,’ dead at age 92

      Joanne Rogers, widow of ‘Mr. Rogers,’ dead at age 92

      January 15, 2021
    • Israel hopes to vaccinate Holocaust survivors to save and repay ‘treasured’ population

      Israel hopes to vaccinate Holocaust survivors to save and repay ‘treasured’ population

      January 15, 2021
    • Conspiracy theories and the ‘American Madness’ that gripped the Capitol

      Conspiracy theories and the ‘American Madness’ that gripped the Capitol

      January 15, 2021
    • Anti-Semitism seen in Capitol insurrection raises alarms

      Anti-Semitism seen in Capitol insurrection raises alarms

      January 14, 2021
    Read Next:

    Seminarian, CBF and Georgia church find fellowship together

    NewsJeff Brumley

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • In New York City, serving the homeless offered a clue for how to serve trauma victims during the pandemic

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • At Central Seminary, Durso inauguration moves to virtual platform

      NewsBNG staff

    • 10 prayers for 2021 (if we survive January)

      OpinionErich Bridges

    • Why ‘moderate’ churches fear telling it like it is

      OpinionEric Minton

    • Kentucky seminary receives Baugh Foundation grant to start Institute for Black Church Studies

      NewsPat Cole

    • American Protestants less open to sermons on race in 2020, survey finds

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • 3 current trends youth leaders need to know

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • 4 things you can do to counter the millions of Americans who are fully radicalized

      OpinionCorey Fields

    • Christian symbols and sedition at the Capitol: The church has work to do

      OpinionRhonda Abbott Blevins

    • ‘Postcards from Babylon’ documentary tells a better story

      AnalysisRick Pidcock

    • Give yourself some grace during the pandemic

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • What should pastors do if their members helped incite the Capitol riots?

      AnalysisAndrew Gardner

    • Seminarian, CBF and Georgia church find fellowship together

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Understanding the trauma and finding hope after the siege of the nation’s Capitol

      OpinionKathy Manis Findley

    • New effort to repeal federal death penalty is beginning

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Why I long for the church of my youth

      OpinionRichard T. Hughes

    • ‘He being dead, yet speaketh’

      OpinionHarold Ivan Smith

    • Barna advice to pastors: Talk honestly about emotions and relationships

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Toxic masculinity, 24-hour news and complacency fed the Jan. 6 riots

      OpinionJohn Jay Alvaro

    • Trump administration pushes evangelical agenda through last-minute actions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Trump’s parting gift echos his immigration policies toward Africa

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • A lesson from 19th century North Carolina: Lost cause, lost opportunity

      OpinionGreg Jarrell

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Dear white Christians, are you done praying yet?

      OpinionNatasha Nedrick

    • SBC seminary presidents meet with Black pastors but don’t change position on Critical Race Theory

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • In New York City, serving the homeless offered a clue for how to serve trauma victims during the pandemic

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • At Central Seminary, Durso inauguration moves to virtual platform

      NewsBNG staff

    • Kentucky seminary receives Baugh Foundation grant to start Institute for Black Church Studies

      NewsPat Cole

    • American Protestants less open to sermons on race in 2020, survey finds

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • 3 current trends youth leaders need to know

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Seminarian, CBF and Georgia church find fellowship together

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • New effort to repeal federal death penalty is beginning

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Barna advice to pastors: Talk honestly about emotions and relationships

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Trump administration pushes evangelical agenda through last-minute actions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Trump’s parting gift echos his immigration policies toward Africa

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • SBC seminary presidents meet with Black pastors but don’t change position on Critical Race Theory

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Q&A with Michael McMahon of the Hymn Society of North America

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Western Recorder, second oldest Baptist paper in America, to cease publication

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Letter to the Editor: No need to ‘call me back’ to my faith after supporting Trump

      NewsBNG staff

    • Clergy advocate to repeal death penalty in Virginia

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Denominational leaders denounce Capitol violence while evangelicals offer mixed responses

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • D.C. church hangs huge Black Lives Matter banners in view of Trump rally

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Pastors respond to unbelievable events at Capitol on Epiphany 2021

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Transitions for the week of 1-8-21

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Donors keep Judson College open for spring semester

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • 25 years ago this week, five Baptist churches were booted for affirming gay members

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Next BNG free webinar will survey global religious issues and human rights

      NewsBNG staff

    • With in-person disaster relief work curtailed due to COVID, Louisiana volunteers came up with a new idea

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • 10 prayers for 2021 (if we survive January)

      OpinionErich Bridges

    • Why ‘moderate’ churches fear telling it like it is

      OpinionEric Minton

    • 4 things you can do to counter the millions of Americans who are fully radicalized

      OpinionCorey Fields

    • Christian symbols and sedition at the Capitol: The church has work to do

      OpinionRhonda Abbott Blevins

    • Give yourself some grace during the pandemic

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • Understanding the trauma and finding hope after the siege of the nation’s Capitol

      OpinionKathy Manis Findley

    • Why I long for the church of my youth

      OpinionRichard T. Hughes

    • ‘He being dead, yet speaketh’

      OpinionHarold Ivan Smith

    • Toxic masculinity, 24-hour news and complacency fed the Jan. 6 riots

      OpinionJohn Jay Alvaro

    • A lesson from 19th century North Carolina: Lost cause, lost opportunity

      OpinionGreg Jarrell

    • Dear white Christians, are you done praying yet?

      OpinionNatasha Nedrick

    • I’ve been accused of sowing hate

      OpinionKim Brewer

    • It’s past time to admit the hard truths behind the Capitol riots

      OpinionWendell Griffen

    • Truth Decay: Truth is interpersonal and covenantal

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • Why resisting gaslighting in the wake of sedition is self-care

      OpinionJonathan Davis

    • Four tools the church has to recover those who followed Trump’s siren song

      OpinionMichael Chancellor

    • Let’s make America great again

      OpinionTerry Austin

    • How to become the hope of 2021

      OpinionAmber Cantorna

    • Broken churches, broken nation: Will evangelicals ‘recalculate’ or rebel?    

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • We need to call Trump Christians back to the faith they left

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

    • Remember that Epiphany ends with Herod’s terror

      OpinionAlyssa Aldape

    • We knew there would be a reckoning for religious leaders enabling Trumpism, we just didn’t know it would be today

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Do you see Jesus as a power broker or a liberator?

      OpinionSid Smith III

    • On Epiphany, let us resolve to go on

      OpinionPaul Baxley

    • On Epiphany, tend the light of Christ with truth and love

      OpinionGeorge Mason

    • Joanne Rogers, widow of ‘Mr. Rogers,’ dead at age 92

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Israel hopes to vaccinate Holocaust survivors to save and repay ‘treasured’ population

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Conspiracy theories and the ‘American Madness’ that gripped the Capitol

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Anti-Semitism seen in Capitol insurrection raises alarms

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Most Evangelical Trump Voters Didn’t Turn on Mike Pence

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What four strangers of different faiths learned while living together during a pandemic

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • In waning days of Trump presidency, Department of Health and Human Services undercuts religious liberty protections in new final rule

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • How House chaplain calmed tense hours in besieged Capitol with prayers for ‘God’s covering’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Supreme Court wrestles with Georgia college free speech case

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • How self-proclaimed ‘prophets’ from a growing Christian movement provided religious motivation for the Jan. 6 events at the US Capitol

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • For insurrectionists, a violent faith brewed from nationalism, conspiracies and Jesus

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Warnock condemns Capitol rioters in post-election sermon

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A scholar of American anti-Semitism explains the hate symbols present during the US Capitol riot

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • SBC leader Russell Moore to Trump: Time to leave. ‘People are dead’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Catholic leaders, progressive and conservative, condemn the violence at the Capitol

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pro-Trump prayer meeting filled with calls for a ‘miracle’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • With his victory, Raphael Warnock becomes a member of a select club – pastor politician

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Faith groups among those calling for Trump’s impeachment after US Capitol occupation

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Warnock, Biden wins give twin thrills to religious liberals

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • As chaos hits Capitol, two forms of faith on display

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Warnock, pastor and politician, has role models who did both

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Sharpton: Firing officer who killed Andre Hill is not enough

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • As ‘Jericho Marchers’ descend on Washington, local faith leaders brace for attacks

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • African spirituality offers Black believers ‘decolonized’ Christianity

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Warnock, pastor and politician, has role models who did both

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2021 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS