Lincoln Statues Coming Down Across America

Back in August 2017, President Trump wondered if statues to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson would one day get taken down. I recall Democrats laughing at the idea. Here's one NPR (Aug 16,2017) article that was written about the topic:

So "whatabout" them? Must they all go if Robert E. Lee goes?

Not necessarily, because they are not all the same.

Some figures stood for something larger. Washington guided the foundation of a country that eventually preserved freedom for all. Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence, in which a single phrase — "that all men are created equal" — became a hammer that later generations would use to help smash the chains of slavery.

It's possible to make a case for honoring such men, so long as we are also honest about their flaws. 

Democrats just weren't buying it back in 2017, but now there are numerous stories of previously well regarding American historical figures having their statues taken down. Let's take a look at Abraham Lincoln. One of the arguments currently being made against President Lincoln is that he allowed 38 Native Americans to get hung due to the 1862 Dakota War.

The Associated Press via Fox News (Dec 29) reports about Boston: 

A statue of Abraham Lincoln with a freed slave appearing to kneel at his feet – optics that drew objections amid a national reckoning with racial injustice – has been removed from its perch in downtown Boston.

. . . But while some saw the shirtless man rising to his feet while shaking off the broken shackles on his wrists, others perceived him as kneeling before Lincoln, his White emancipator.

NBC News (Oct 12) reports about Portland:

Protesters in Portland, Oregon, pulled down statues of former Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt and broke windows late Sunday amid a demonstration on what organizers called an “Indigenous Day of Rage,” NBC local affiliate KGW reported.

The LA Times (Dec 30) looks at San Francisco, which hasn't yet taken down their statue of Lincoln, but is definitely considering re-naming a school:

Mark Sanchez, president of the San Francisco Board of Education, proposed forming the renaming committee in 2018 and said he stood behind the group’s work. Though the overwhelming feedback he’s received has been “to not cancel Abraham Lincoln,” Sanchez said he was inclined to follow the committee’s recommendation to change the name of the high school bearing his moniker.

It will be interesting how this all turns out over the next 5 to 10 years.

Honestly, should we even have a holiday named after Martin Luther King Jr.? As FBI tapes get released over-time, what will his standing be as related to the #metoo movement.

Should any statues be around for any historical figure? What about schools named after individuals? Streets? Maybe our policy should be to end all recognition of historical figures. Honestly, what was MLK's position on gay marriage? What was Cesar Chavez's position on such and such an issue?

The NPR article was correct in its nuance; however, I'm not sure that nuance stands at the moment.