Kara Walker Transforms Confederate Statue into Powerful Art Exhibit in Los Angeles

The Monuments exhibition opening in Los Angeles on October 23, 2025, features the transformative work of American artist Kara Walker who reimagined a Confederate statue of Stonewall Jackson. The statue, originally from Charlottesville, Virginia, was dismantled and reassembled into a disjointed, dist... [More info]

The massive Confederate Soldiers Monument was erected in 1903 and occupies a prime spot on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol, towering over visitors on their right as they walk onto the grounds of the capitol from the main entrance. The inscription exemplifies the "Lost Cause" myth making that legitimized Jim Crow, lynching, and White Anglo supremacy in general.

Monuments commemorating African American and Hispanic Texans subsequently placed nearby obscure neither the Confederate monument itself nor the historical truth that racial subjugation and the spreading of falsehoods about this violent process have been central to the making of Texas today.

Image -- By Daderot - Own work, Public Domain --Wikimedia Commons

#Texas #Austin #USHistory #ConfederateMonuments #LostCause #Racism #WhiteSupremacy #TexasStateCapitol

Many critics, who almost invariably do not work in the fields of historical study or education, will reflexively scoff at the idea that the Trump regime is attempting to erase, or re-write history in a way that supports a Christian Nationalist worldview as the official truth and indeed the only valid, legal way to speak about history; often while admitting that Trump is functionally illiterate and certainly doesn't read much history. Of course that argument is irrelevant because he's surrounded by a whole bunch of white nationalist freaks who certainly do read and care about history, in so much as it furthers their project to transform America into a permanent fascist dictatorship and white ethnostate; Stephen Miller, who is clearly functioning as the regime's Goebbels, has certainly read a history book or two. Even setting that obvious reality aside however, sometimes Trump's executive orders just come right out and admit this is the plan. Take for example Der Führer's recent order to put noted white nationalist (and Vice President) JD Vance in charge of scrubbing the Smithsonian museum (and zoo) complex of "improper ideology."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-smithsonian-executive-order

'Unabashed Fascism': Trump Executive Order Targets 'Improper Ideology' at Smithsonian

"U.S. President Donald Trump has elicited a fresh wave of anger after he signed an executive order on Thursday targeting exhibits or programs critical of the United States at the Smithsonian Institution, a sprawling network of largely free museums and Washington, D.C.'s National Zoo.

The order aims to prevent federal money from going to displays that "divide Americans based on race" or "promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law and policy," as well as remove "improper ideology" from Smithsonian's museums, education centers, and research centers.

"This is unabashed fascism," wrote the journalist Lauren Wolfe on X on Thursday. Amy Rutenberg, a history professor at Iowa State University, wrote: "Last week, while visiting several Smithsonian museums, I kept wondering how long it would take for this administration to direct exhibits to be pulled. Not long, it turns out."

Look, if you think I'm being uncharitable about the purpose of this executive order, you can simply read the order yourself (here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/restoring-truth-and-sanity-to-american-history/) because Downmarket Mussolini makes it very clear this is about erasing the history of slavery, structural racism, the existence of trans women, and anything that makes white people uncomfortable about the history of a white supremacist country built on chattel slavery and genocide. Trump even pinned the tail on the donkey by instructing the interior secretary to reinstall statues and monuments removed or changed since January 1st, 2020; and if your memory is failing you, that date is clearly about undoing projects to remove monuments to racists and Confederate slavers, in response to the efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement and the George Floyd protests.

Anyone arguing this is about preserving history from ideology (a phrase that makes zero sense because history is affected by the ideologies governing human behavior at the time it happens; obviously) somehow, is literally pushing fascist propaganda; this is about establishing an official narrative in support of a white nationalist permanent social and political order, and slowly eliminating any source of facts that might argue with that narrative. This is ideological policing, and history has shown us that these efforts to rewrite the past and eliminate dissenting narratives typically end in, literal, mass graves.

#Fascism #Trump #JDVance #History #Patriarchy #Slavery #Education #Musem #Smithsonian #WhiteNationalism #Propaganda #IdeologicalPolicing #BLM #AntiTransPogrom #StephenMiller #GeorgeFloydProtests #ConfederateMonuments

'Unabashed Fascism': Trump Executive Order Targets 'Improper Ideology' at Smithsonian | Common Dreams

President Trump's latest executive order targeting the Smithsonian is a blatant attack on American history and culture, say critics.

Common Dreams
The memorial at Arlington National Cemetery has been criticized for its sanitized depiction of slavery, and its removal is part of a military-wide effort to take down Confederate symbols from bases, ships and other facilities. @nytimes https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/us/confederate-memorial-arlington-cemetery.html #history #ConfederateMonuments
Judge Allows Removal of Confederate Memorial at Arlington Cemetery to Proceed

The federal judge ruled that claims that nearby graves were at risk of damage were “misinformed or misleading.” The memorial has been criticized for its sanitized depiction of slavery.

The New York Times

@TonyStark A giant "1865"-sculpture should be cast from the statue's metal.

And every Confederacy- & slavery-glorifying monument should equally be removed & turned into such a sculpture, too, if made of metal.

#DefendDemocracy #DefendTheUnion #DefendTheConstitution #ReconstructionAmendments #EndOfConfederacy #Insurrection #Rebellion #ConfederateMonuments #Confedereds

Watch Confederate General Robert E Lee get cut up and melted down. This statue in Charlottesville, VA was the focal point of an ultra-right rally that ended in the tragic death of anti-racist Heather Heyer. (This article is my gift to you). Enjoy! https://wapo.st/40sfjWh #ConfederateMonuments
How Charlottesville’s Robert E. Lee statue was melted down

The divisive Confederate monument, the focus of the deadly Unite the Right rally in 2017, was melted down in secret and will become a new piece of public art.

The Washington Post

1/? #Golda, #feminist icon? #girlboss-ing #warcrimes.

I'm sorry this film exists & that this theater supports it, though I'm not necessarily saying one should ban a movie. I will say that The Carolina Theater promoting this without education/context is like celebrating #Confederatemonuments ("history" or "heritage" minus the necessary education on their context& legacy of #slavery, murder, jim crow, #policebrutality).
#humanrights #FreePalestine #blacklivesmatter #palestine #palestinesolidarity

1/? #Golda, #feminist icon? #girlboss-ing #warcrimes.

I'm sorry this film exists & that this theater supports it, though I'm not necessarily saying one should ban a movie. I will say that The Carolina Theater promoting this without education/context is like celebrating #Confederatemonuments ("history" or "heritage" minus the necessary education on their context& legacy of #slavery, murder, jim crow, #policebrutality).
#humanrights #FreePalestine #blacklivesmatter #palestine #palestinesolidarity