Why tear down statues?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I notice that in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder in the United States, monuments giving glory to proponents of the slave trade in the New World are being torn down in England, the United States, and other places. Opinions are being generated in Jamaica as to whether we should follow suit and tear down the statues of Columbus, Victoria, Rodney, and others here.

I am by no means a student of history, but I don’t support the idea of tearing down ours. We should instead use these monuments as teaching opportunities for serious students of history, where they can engage in serious debate on the pros and cons of the contribution of these persons. We cannot eliminate the fact that slavery was once a part of our existence and that the effects are still being experienced in our society and will be for thousands of years to come.

It is no doubt that the destruction of our flora and fauna started with the arrival of Columbus. The emancipation process was already well in progress when Victoria, as a young girl, became queen, so in fairness to her, maybe we should not blame her too much, and maybe without Rodney, we would have ended up as a colony of France, which would have been neither here nor there. Does that mean we should tear down one of the world’s most popular statues at the corner of Oxford Road and Knutsford Boulevard and many of the old churches and other buildings built by slave labour?

The fact that we are disgusted by what happened under slavery and colonialism does not mean we should forget it. The Jews don’t forget Egyptian or Babylonish captivity and slavery that happened thousands of years ago, and one day, the holocaust may join those events as part of scripture.

TREVOR SAMUELS

tasamuels@cwjamaica.com