On December 17th, 2015, the city council of New Orleans made national headlines. In a 6-1 vote, the seven council members ruled in favor of removing four Confederate monuments from the city. The statues represent historical leaders and battles and currently located throughout historic parts of New Orleans. Though the vote was praised throughout the United States, the decision caused uproar in communities throughout parts of the city and country. Citizens banded together to argue and appeal the decision to federal court. Despite the immediate reaction of those protesting the decision, the council has stood strong on their stance that these statues do not represent the city today; but instead have caused a rift between black and white communities. They are not wrong; these statues, erected in the early 20th century, do not fairly represent the inclusive community that New Orleans has become over the past century. Instead, they further racial tensions that have plagued the Southern United States since the country’s inception.
	Racial discrimination has become an increasingly relevant issue despite as America realizes that the advances made during the Civil Rights Movement have not addressed all the racial issues facing America. After generations of slavery and segregation, citizens of the United States are trying to become more proactive about equality, condemning a regrettable history that has shaped this country. One of the first historical turning points in America attempting to make society equal was the outcome of the American Civil War. The Northern Union defeated the Confederate States, a group of Southern states that attempted to secede from the Union. A major issue the South faced before the war was that it depended on an “agricultural economy” based around slave labor, though slavery was federally outlawed before the start of the Civil War. Though many people argue that the Confederacy fought for strictly states’ rights, it is important to recognize the racial injustices, including slavery, which occurred systematically throughout the states. Statues that cast light on the so-called heroes of the Confederacy fail to portray the reality of the injustices that existed. Today, people argue that these relics are devices that represent Confederate values and promote hatred; and scholars such as Tulane historian Terrence Fitzmorris claim that these statues are “hurtful to black southerners”. However, many Confederate values preserved in Southern tradition include a caste-like system that put non-white males in a society that perceives them as inferior; and it is these values that have since haunted the United States. An era of segregation and Jim Crowe followed the end of the Civil War and dominated the cultural and legal integrity of many states. Racism grew rapidly while discrimination against non-white, and very specifically African-American, people rose throughout the country as a whole. After almost a century of the Civil War ending, the Civil Rights Movement sparked and led to groundbreaking change throughout the country as a whole. It brought awareness to the American people that discrimination towards any creed, race, sex, or religion was unmoral and wrong; and finally provided legal protections to the demographics that have been abused for centuries. However, people have still held on to certain values that have been learned throughout these shameful generations. Though the country has made significant strides for equal rights for everyone, some of the American public attempt to preserve racist and bigoted values that were promoted at a time when it was acceptable. The monuments throughout New Orleans represent people, such as Lee and Davis, who were considered heroes for a confederacy of states that promoted this hatred. Though truly historic figures and icons, New Orleans has given people who subscribe to these hateful beliefs monuments that represent the values that continue to fire the racism that continues to exist in this country.
