“Heritage”

Heritage. That’s the word white folks use when defending Confederate statues and, until now, the Confederate flag. It’s a dog-whistle, but do folks really know its meaning?

Heritage, from [Oxford Languages] dictionary means, “property that is or may be inherited, an inheritance.”

When we think of heritage we think of statues, monuments, a flag, even the names of our public schools. What we fail to recognize is that the evils of slavery echo through these objects. Statues are not just carved stone. These objects celebrate the purchase of fellow human beings.

How can we fail to accept the message these objects send?

Centuries of societal psychological suppression, inflicted upon Americans by white America, resulted in the attempted silencing of black voices.