Confronting injustice? Or tearing down history?

The Boston Arts Commission recently removed The Emancipation Memorial from Park Square after intense pressure from the public. In Richmond, VA, the statue of Robert E. Lee has become a rallying point for Black Lives Matter protests and a canvas on which to memorialize George Floyd.

What does it mean to remove historical monuments? How did they get there in the first place? Is there an argument for preserving them? What did they symbolize to the people who erected them? What do they mean to us today? What parts of our history are not represented in our public monuments? How can we work to make this space more inclusive? Join us for a panel discussion addressing these questions and more.

Presented by the Wayland Free Public Library and First Parish in Wayland.

Featuring: 

Stacen Goldman - Curator, Framingham History Center and blogger at The Thoughtful Museum

Ángel David Nieves - Professor of Africana Studies, History, and Digital Humanities; Director of Public Humanities, Northeastern University

Shawn Quigley - Ranger, National Park Service, Boston African American National Historic Site

Kabria Baumgartner - Professor of English and American Studies, and core faculty in Women’s Studies, University of New Hampshire