Black History Month: To Fully Appreciate Black History, The US Must Let Go Of Lingering Confederate Nostalgia
As a nation, the U.S. is debating the meaning of Confederate symbolism and history.
That debate is closely tied to how the U.S. commemorates, or fails to commemorate, the full spectrum of African-American history.
In my research I explore why people choose to remember some parts of the past and not others. I have also studied how communities choose to forget portions of the past in order to overcome longstanding conflicts.
Based on this work, I would argue that nostalgic versions of Confederate history inhibit our ability to memorialize African-American historical experiences and achievements as centerpieces of U.S. history.
Forgetting and forging ahead
A commitment to starting over and creating a new future is a deep-seated part of the U.S. experience. Thomas Paine published “Common Se...