In the space of several weeks, New Orleans removed four
monuments, even demolishing at least one. Such a sweeping action spearheaded by
Mayor Mitch Landrieu, with consent of the City Council, generated less debate
on the national scale than I expected. I was very surprised that the city had
the authority to remove landmarks, as I thought that they would be protected by
state, even federal law. The federal courts declined to interfere with this
“local matter”, and the monuments were removed in the dark of night with less
legal battle than removing an old tree.
These monuments happened to commemorate Confederate leaders
and events; and were erected during the heyday of Civil War veterans. They were the South’s response to Grand Army
Plaza and General Sherman statues. In
Norfolk, Virginia there is a Confederate memorial erected in 1951. At first
glance I thought it was a bad symbol of massive resistance to civil rights, but
upon closer reading I discovered that the memorial commemorated the last
meeting of centenarian veterans. In some parts of the country and in some
communities, the thought of Confederate statues generates revulsion. But living
on the border of Virginia, I grew up around intentional and subtle memorials to
the Confederacy, such as the Civil War battlefields, replete with reenactments,
curio stores, Robert E Lee’s house on the grounds of Arlington National
Cemetery, Lee-Jackson Day, and roads with high rise buildings named after
Confederate generals. Recently, the Washington National Cathedral, part of the
Episcopal Church, decided to alter a stained glass window that portrayed a
small Confederate flag. That is their right, but it sparked debate in preservation-conscious
Washington. Virginia has taken a keen interest in ensuring that the historic
city of Alexandria, bordering Washington, keeps its memorials. It makes for
unsavory news headlines in the age of clickbait. Around a city full of statues
and monuments to controversial figures; several statues to the Confederacy is
just ‘is’.
Among the four demolished monuments was a wholly
inappropriate memorial to the Battle of Liberty Place extolling the virtues of
lawlessness. It was a low key-memorial and the first to be removed. As the
Associated Press writes, it commemorates “A rebellion in 1874 by whites against a biracial Reconstruction-era
government in New Orleans. An inscription extolling white supremacy was added
in 1932”. This statue was devoted to racism; and had no redeeming artistic
value, it was rightly demolished. The others commemorate Confederate leaders,
which some find to symbolize racism.
I looked at pictures of the condemned memorials in New
Orleans. Several were grimy and looked to be neglected. That was how Pennsylvania Station looked in 1963
when the “obsolete” Pennsylvania Station of 1908 was razed, to the horror of
historians, the art community, and the educated public. The airy atrium and iconic building,
everything above street level, was replaced with the Madison Square Garden
stadium and an office building, maximizing use of what was seen at the time as
wasted real estate. What existed below street level, the utilitarian train
tracks and platforms, was preserved. A small concession was made to
preservationists, and the iconic eagles, which used to be on the train
station’s facades, landed at college campuses and public places around New York
City.
The fact that Pennsylvania Station was demolished proved to
be a turning point on how our nation treated old but iconic buildings. It was a
turning point , not a clean break, as we see in our churches. Parishioners, many struggling immigrants from
the Old World, put their pennies together to build great churches in our
cities. Some churches have been sold or demolished, usually after a period of
postponed maintenance, due to insufficient funds. Other times, there was “wreckovation” that
came with the “Spirit of Vatican 2”: While many parishes were able to
accommodate the new mass without
alterations; other church leaders jumped on a bandwagon and planned renovation using
the vague motive of symbolism about moving forward in a new
direction. Similar attitudes prevailed
in other denomiations as well.
Then the Tridentine Mass returned after 20 years’
absence. This is the old mass which the old Catholic parishes
were built for. There is nothing more beautiful than the combination of ritual
and place, the old mass being celebrated at the old altar, as it has been for a
century or more, skipping one generation. In many neighborhoods with old
parishes, gentrification is in full swing. The flavor of life of ethnic
communities is being replaced by generic residents and bland chain outlets. In
light of this, churches, statues and monuments create a sense of place; as they
have been for the past centuries.
What is a Washingtonian to judge how New Orleans wants to
forget the unpleasant past? Folks visit New Orleans for the cultural
difference, where preserving the past has less importance than enjoying the
present. The people of New Orleans make the French Quarter what it is; the
buildings are decoration. Let the good
times roll in the Big Easy.
