US (Washington Insider Magazine) – When Judith Ezekiel was five, her grandfather took her and her brothers to Arlington National Cemetery to see a statue created by their relative, Moses Jacob Ezekiel. A prominent Jewish sculptor from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Moses is best known for the Confederate Memorial, which has stood at Arlington since 1914.
“My grandfather was proud of his artistic legacy,” Dr. Ezekiel recalls, noting that he took all 15 grandchildren to see the statue during their childhood. The memorial, a bronze statue atop a granite base, honors those who fought for the Confederate states during the Civil War.
For over a century, this statue has remained in Arlington, America’s most sacred military cemetery, which houses around 400,000 graves of soldiers, sailors, astronauts, and two presidents. However, by next year, the U.S. government has ordered its removal as part of a broader effort to reassess how the country commemorates the Confederacy.
Since 2015, 377 memorials have been renamed or removed, yet as of 2022, 723 Confederate memorials still exist, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Numerous roads, schools, and parks named after Confederate figures also remain untouched.
Dr. Ezekiel, a historian and professor emerita of women’s and African American studies, didn’t think much about the statue until 2017. That August, white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, resulting in violence that shocked the nation.
As she watched the events unfold, Judith noticed the irony of seeing demonstrators near a statue of Thomas Jefferson, also sculpted by her ancestor, Moses Ezekiel. “What can we do about Moses Ezekiel’s monument in Arlington?” she asked her relatives.
Moses Ezekiel had fought for the Confederacy and aimed to build a monument to counter what he perceived as false narratives about the South. His statue includes a stereotypical depiction of a Black woman handing a baby to a Southern soldier, reflecting the outdated notion that the war was about states’ rights rather than slavery. This interpretation is largely regarded by historians as a myth used to glorify the Confederacy and obscure its history of slavery.
Days later, Dr. Ezekiel, along with other family members, penned a public letter to the Washington Post, calling for the removal of the statue. “As proud as our family may be of Moses’s artistic talent, we — twenty Ezekiels — demand its removal. It should be relocated to a museum that highlights its oppressive history,” she stated.
Dr. Ezekiel views this as a necessary protest against the blemish in her family history, acknowledging the uncomfortable truths of their Southern heritage, including links to Confederates and slave ownership.
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, the U.S. Congress established the Naming Commission to identify and recommend actions regarding monuments honoring the Confederacy. Last year, the commission recommended the removal of the Arlington Confederate Memorial, leaving only its granite base to avoid disturbing surrounding graves.
This statue, located at the cemetery’s far western edge near the grave of Moses Ezekiel, has not been a popular stop for tour groups due to its remoteness. Nevertheless, some visitors have begun to pay their respects. One grave belonging to a Confederate sailor has a white naval cap placed upon it.
The decision to remove the statue has sparked controversy, with the cemetery receiving about 300 written responses shortly after the order was issued. Opponents of the removal have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense, claiming the decision is “illegal and arbitrary” and that the statue holds significant historical and cultural value.
LM Siegel, a member of the Defend Arlington campaign group involved in the lawsuit, argues that removing the statue would reopen historical wounds. “I was taught, don’t mess with people’s graves,” she insists, asserting that such actions are sacrilege.
She referenced President Woodrow Wilson’s speech at the statue’s unveiling in 1914, which stated that the creation of such monuments exemplified American democracy, where the vanquished were honored rather than oppressed.
Beyond the cultural implications, the practical challenge of dismantling a 32-foot tall statue made of granite and bronze looms large as the debate continues.