GSU (downtown) Students Demand that Henry Grady Statue Be Removed (Atlanta: homes, military)

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by atlHawks

Cancel culture is awful.

Agreed.

[aslowdodge]

Originally Posted by atlHawks

Cancel culture is awful.

It seems some people just look for something to be offended by. I understand some of these memorials don’t represent what we consider correct today, but eliminating them just lets people forget history and perhaps lessons learned today.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by DreamerD

I thought about your response for a while. Wasn't it taxpayer dollars that put it there in the first place? Why would it be out of the question to have taxpayer dollars remove it?

Others responded with a similar response but as you asked I’ll give my reasons -

1) the demand is from a group of students, not something that was voted on by a majority of the local population

2) there are much higher priorities for spending taxpayer dollars

If the city agrees with the students and their supporters to permit a move, let the supporters fund it. I think it would be more valuable to keep the statue and teach people about Grady’s viewpoints of the time and how our society has changed.

[Turnerbro]

Why do people care so much about this?

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by jeoff

It’s not a memorial to the confederacy, or celebration of racism. In a region that is known for constantly looking backward, he pushed Atlanta forward—that is why the statue is there. We should give context to history, and remind folks that some men and women that did important things weren’t wonderful people, but this is not an attempt at correcting a wrong, it is burying history.

I agree. This is getting out of hand.

[coolieandre]

I have an alternative view on this. Hopefully, we all are aware of the history of the south and Atlanta.... BUT removing statues isn't going to solve it. If that's the case then rename the hospital too. If I have kids I want them to understand the transition of the world and what It once was. We can't always protest to remove, sand-blast, etc etc. Instead, I think we should request to have another statue placed... That shows the growth and direction we are going.... By removing the statues to me is like saying remove it from the textbooks, so its out of mind. The strength comes from knowing it was once there, and at one point the person on the statue was prominent.

[ThreeSides]

I'm willing to bet that those students have no problem celebrating Independence Day, Thanksgiving, using US currency, etc. In fact, it's pretty safe to presume that a so called racist or two, had a hand in the founding of Georgia State University.

If they really want the statue removed, perhaps they should purchase it, then have it removed. Power only yeilds to greater power.

Someone please give those knucklehead college students a Kleenex or two, and tell them to have a nice day. Close your eyes if you don't like looking at the inanimate object.

Btw, I know a person who refuses to go to Stone Mountain because of her feelings about the relief. Feel how you want to about the depictions. It is an engineering marvel!

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by seussie

Just a brief note: it was funded by public subscriptions rather than taxpayer dollars. The sculptor, Alexander Doyle, also built his career off of commissions to create Confederate sculptures.

My general response to this and most sculptures that venerate problematic people: good. Society changes, and so should its art and the way public art can set the tone for society. The statue moved once. It can move again. I'd prefer to a trash bin or broken down for reuse. That thing is heavy. Pride blinds, and I see too many people trying desensitize the effect racism did and still has by saying things like "it's normal for white people to have been racist then." Imagine if you were the target of that racism then or now. But, because I am a historian and I do think destruction enables many people to still not engage with history, I like their suggestion of a plaque. But also, if it would go to a history museum or the likes, people who love these figures and are arguing that people overlook their contributions, should be assuaged by that being one of the main objectives of preservation centers. More student groups, etc. would get exposure to this than the few folk pounding the pavement with 19th century tour books in their hands.

The first bolded: The biggest opposition to the statue being moved comes from a lot of people with a boomer mentality. Just reading the things I do on this specific forum reinforces this belief. There is a strong unwillingness for people to even consider change.

You wouldn't want to know how many students I've met who have a strong disconnect with their grandparents/parents because of their racism. I am not surprised to see this reaction because we grew up in it and it's a part of our culture. Just like it was normal to talk about Columbus and the glorious things he did for this country, his home country, etc., it is normal for people to engage in overwhelmingly positive talk when discussing Henry Grady.


Here's a quote from Grady:“The supremacy of the white race of the South must be maintained forever, and the domination of the negro race resisted at all points and at all hazards – because the white race is the superior race,” Grady said at the Texas State Fair in 1887."
I also agree that art can set the tone for society. I am very observant of the space that this statue takes up. For a city that was known to be "too busy to hate" and that is now seen as one of the more progressive cities for blacks in terms of success, this statue paints a different picture and demonstrates the complete lack of empathy and hatefulness that is still present in large blocks of our society.


The resistance is expected. We are seeing powerful negative reactions to things in history class being challenged such as this person was great because he did x, y, and z, but failing to highlight the scores of people this person had killed. This person was great but for whom? This is a question I always see NOT asked.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by DreamerD

The first bolded: The biggest opposition to the statue being moved comes from a lot of people with a boomer mentality. Just reading the things I do on this specific forum reinforces this belief. There is a strong unwillingness for people to even consider change.

You wouldn't want to know how many students I've met who have a strong disconnect with their grandparents/parents because of their racism. I am not surprised to see this reaction because we grew up in it and it's a part of our culture. Just like it was normal to talk about Columbus and the glorious things he did for this country, his home country, etc., it is normal for people to engage in overwhelmingly positive talk when discussing Henry Grady.


Here's a quote from Grady:“The supremacy of the white race of the South must be maintained forever, and the domination of the negro race resisted at all points and at all hazards – because the white race is the superior race,” Grady said at the Texas State Fair in 1887."
I also agree that art can set the tone for society. I am very observant of the space that this statue takes up. For a city that was known to be "too busy to hate" and that is now seen as one of the more progressive cities for blacks in terms of success, this statue paints a different picture and demonstrates the complete lack of empathy and hatefulness that is still present in large blocks of our society.


The resistance is expected. We are seeing powerful negative reactions to things in history class being challenged such as this person was great because he did x, y, and z, but failing to highlight the scores of people this person had killed. This person was great but for whom? This is a question I always see NOT asked.

What a great opportunity to educate everyone on the positives AND negatives of Grady.

Then, the city should have a referendum to decide on the statue and plan accordingly.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by markjames68

What a great opportunity to educate everyone on the positives AND negatives of Grady.

Then, the city should have a referendum to decide on the statue and plan accordingly.

Any debate about removing the Henry Grady statue from its current location on Marietta Street in Downtown Atlanta appears to be moot.

That is because Georgia state law expressly prohibits the removal of publicly-owned monuments like said statue of Henry Grady in Downtown Atlanta.

And those who understandably may be deeply uncomfortable with the current prominent location of a statue of a historical figure who held and openly espoused extremely racist views (extremely racist views, which unfortunately, were commonplace at the time) probably should not expect Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms and/or too many high-profile figures in Atlanta city government (or for that matter, too many high-profile figures in Atlanta society) to speak out or advocate too openly about removing the statue from its current spot.

That is because openly speaking out and advocating for or making any attempts for the removal of the Henry Grady statue from its current spot in Downtown Atlanta would most assuredly intensely anger deeply conservative Georgia state legislators who see the removal of confederate and Jim Crow-era statues and monuments from public spaces as a personal affront that is equal to a crime against their view of humanity.

For a public figure like Mayor Bottoms, publicly speaking out and/or publicly advocating for the removal of the Grady statue from Downtown Atlanta would be equivalent to an act of political war with the State of Georgia.

Publicly speaking out and advocating for the removal of the Grady statue would severely strain relations with anxious deeply conservative rural and outer-exurban state legislators that are already basically looking to engage in political, cultural and social warfare with all things Atlanta-related (Atlanta-related things like the Airport, Delta Airlines, the Atlanta-based TV/Film production industry, etc.)… And it would also make it even more difficult than it already might be for a relatively very moderate figure like Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to hold off future political attacks by those anxious and resentful state legislators on all things Atlanta during a time of growing angst over the demographic and political changes that metro Atlanta is generating within the state... So do not expect a figure like Mayor Bottoms to spend any of her preciously limited political capital on this issue at this time.

For those who might wish to see it removed and/or relocated from its current location, the unfortunate reality is that the statue probably is not going anywhere anytime soon.