Reclaiming History

One of the most important parts of history is the way in which it is told and the people/events it idolizes. In the middle of Selma, Alabama, there is a graveyard filled with tombs of white supremacists proudly decorated with newly bought confederate flags. Viewing this sight in what is known as a civil rights landmark in America was appalling. Selma is still a segregated, impoverished town-- it raises the question as to whether change never occurred because Selma was the beginning of the marches, as opposed to the end like Montgomery which is a beautifully restored city today. The confederate graveyard seemed to serve as a reminder to all of the residents of Selma that the white man still rules. For some of the men honored in the cemetery, there were multiple tombstones for their remembrance, however no landmarks were seen in Selma that celebrated African-American leaders. This dynamic in the town led me to ponder an important aspect of retelling history and reclaiming the past: even though we can't change history (or in this case undo the making of the confederate graveyard), should we or do we have the right to change how history is viewed by future generations by changing historical sites? And if we do change these sites, how do we go about doing that: through destroying ignorant memorials, by putting up plaques that explain the true intentions of those being wrongly memorialized, or by adding to history through constructing monuments of those who fought on what we consider to be the right side of history (i.e. MLK, Rosa Parks, John Lewis, etc.)? Perspective is arguably the most important part of history; developing a pragmatic way to show history from all lenses is the task of current and future generations. 

Leah Balter, Baltimore City College