The conversation about monuments, specifically Confederate monuments, has heated up in the last few months. Battles have been waged across the country about whether these monuments should be taken down. One such confrontation became deadly when, earlier this year, white nationalists gathered in Charlottesville, North Carolina to protest the removal of a monument of Robert E. Lee.
Some say monuments dedicated to those who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War represent the vilest parts of our history and should be removed. Others, including President Donald Trump, have argued that they are part of our history and should remain.
Given these debates, it’s fair to ask: How do we decide who should have a monument dedicated to them? And why are there so few monuments of women and people of color?
This week’s Divided States of Women tackles these questions, and asks Sarah Eagle Heart, an indigenous rights activist, what it means to be left out of history.