August 2017 was a surreal time for me. I was attending the annual meeting of the Emily Dickinson International Society in Amherst, MA, and while I was there discussing the poetry of Emily Dickinson, neo-Nazis were marching in my hometown of Charlottesville, VA, in support of white supremacy, the Ku Klux Klan's Grand Wizard Donald Trump, and Confederate monuments. They were "very fine people," croaked Trump. It was all so disgusting, but what started it all was a Charlottesville City Council vote to remove statues in town of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson (and note -- neither of those men had ever visited the city nor had anything to do with Charlottesville's history).
This past weekend, on July 10, 2021, the two statues were finally removed. Info is HERE.
Of course, Klan members in the GOP will say, "The libtards are cancelling history!" In truth, though, the history will still stand. What will NOT stand will be the monuments to seditious traitors who supported white supremacy and the enslavement of other human beings (and don't give me that "the Civil War was about "states' rights" crap; that's the fake narrative racists use to disguise the truth).
In honor of the removal to these monument to racism, I have posted Emmett Lee Dickinson's now-classic poem "The Crane took up the Southern Things" below on the left. Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "The Wind took up the Northern Things," below on the right.
This past weekend, on July 10, 2021, the two statues were finally removed. Info is HERE.
Of course, Klan members in the GOP will say, "The libtards are cancelling history!" In truth, though, the history will still stand. What will NOT stand will be the monuments to seditious traitors who supported white supremacy and the enslavement of other human beings (and don't give me that "the Civil War was about "states' rights" crap; that's the fake narrative racists use to disguise the truth).
In honor of the removal to these monument to racism, I have posted Emmett Lee Dickinson's now-classic poem "The Crane took up the Southern Things" below on the left. Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "The Wind took up the Northern Things," below on the right.
| By Emmett Lee Dickinson: The Crane took up the Southern Things And piled them onto trucks – Then drove the Figures to a Shed Thus closing up a flux The two Divisions of our Land Did cause our lot to sour White separatists to corners slunk Behind an awful power – Their Cause – unto our History went And yet it’s ventured on – Their subjects scattered onto plinths Their shrines staged on the lawn And though their Monuments did rise Our Voice has now been heard -- How far we’ve come, a Tempest past Their Transport has Occurred – | By Emily Dickinson: The Wind took up the Northern Things And piled them in the south – Then gave the East unto the West And opening his mouth The four Divisions of the Earth Did make as to devour While everything to corners slunk Behind the awful power – The Wind - unto his Chambers went And nature ventured out - Her subjects scattered into place Her systems ranged about Again the smoke from Dwellings rose The Day abroad was heard - How intimate, a Tempest past The Transport of the Bird – |
Below left: Robert E. Lee rides off to a storage shed. Below right: Lee's empty plinth.
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Below left, center and right: Stonewall Jackson gets strapped up and lifted off his plinth.
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Below: Stonewall Jackson rides off this the same storage shed as Lee.
Below: In a surprise move on the same weekend, the city also removed a statue of Lewis, Clark and Sacagawea. One of the issues was the perception of Sacagawea cowering behind the men.
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Below: Scenes from the expedition are depicted around the base of the statue. York, the man William Clark's father enslaved, was willed to William Clark in 1799. Clark did not even give him freedom after the trek.
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