NEW ORLEANS – In light of New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu's recent call to remove or relocate four Confederate monuments in the city, and similar actions across Louisiana and the South, Louisiana Cultural Vistas magazine will host "Monumental Decisions: Confederate Memorials in the 21st Century" on Thursday, July 23, 2015, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., at the Louisiana Humanities Center, 938 Lafayette St. in the Central Business District.
The forum will feature four historians who will discuss the history and debated fate of the statues of General Robert E. Lee, General P.G.T. Beauregard and CSA President Jefferson Davis, along with the obelisk marking the location of the 1874 Battle of Liberty Place.
The panel will include Laura Rosanne Adderley, associate professor of history at Tulane University; Molly Mitchell, professor of early American history at the University of New Orleans; Justin Nystrom, assistant professor and co-director of Loyola University's Documentary and Oral History Studio; and Greg Osborn, associate at the New Orleans Public Library. LCV Editor David Johnson will serve as the moderator.
The historians will examine the relationship of these military and political figures figures to the city of New Orleans and the motivation behind the financing and construction of their memorials. A chronology of the Reconstruction-era Battle of Liberty Place will be offered, including the ongoing controversy surrounding its memorialization. Other topics will include efforts taken by other cities and nations to address the reinterpretation or removal of contentious monuments.
The event is free and open to the public.
Seating is limited.
Doors open at 5:45 p.m. and admission is first come, first seated.
