'Private Confederate Monuments' by Jessica Owley, Jess R Phelps and Sean W Hughes in (2021) 25(1) Lewis & Clark Law Review comments
As public confederate monuments finally begin to come down across the nation, we are beginning to see a new emergence of confederate monuments on private lands. The number of private confederate monuments is increasing both with the construction of new monuments and, more significantly, the relocation of monuments from public land. This Article explains why private confederate monuments are likely to be the next battleground over these controversial and troubled statues. Through ten detailed examples, we show how private confederate monuments emerge and how communities are responding. The challenges related to monuments on private land are different than those on public lands, and previous activism and research in this area is only of limited use in grappling with this category. This Article addresses the difficult issues with private confederate monuments. We urge communities to be thoughtful in their relocation efforts and to contextualize (and distance themselves from) all confederate monuments. This Article serves as a cautionary note to communities looking to dispose of their monuments by donating or returning these resources to private groups and encourages communities to fully evaluate the impacts of their removal and relocation plans to ensure they do not lead to unintended consequences or creates issues for another community.
