Keisha N. Blain, Ph.D.

“There is perhaps no greater proof of the persistence of white supremacy and how it has shaped public memory than the myth of “the Lost Cause“: the idea that during the Civil War the South fought a principled battle for states’ rights with the continuation of slavery as only an ancillary factor. Those who embrace this distorted view of history insist that Confederate monuments hold some value: to honor what they call “Southern pride and heritage.” Yet those emphasizing states’ rights overlook one critical point: Southern states were fighting for the right to enslave human beings.”