Thread by @AmericanStudier

As my hometown of #Charlottesville completes a weekend of overdue statue removals w/UVa’s Clark statue this morning, wanted to make this week’s #ScholarSunday thread a bit different: pieces & voices to help contextualize this moment! #twitterstorians

Gotta preface the thread by shouting out the amazing young scholar & activist (and fellow Charlottesville High School alum) most responsible for getting us to this moment, @ZyahnaB (& all those @TakeEmDownCVL):

zyahnabryant.com

First, a handful of the many scholars who’ve been doing the work for years. @HilaryGreen77 has created an excellent database of statue & monument histories & removals:

hgreen.people.ua.edu/csa-monument-m…

@DrKarenLCox’s No Common Ground is the essential book on these histories & unfolding debates (paired with her excellent Dixie’s Daughters, natch):

karencoxhistorian.com/books/

@AdamHDomby’s The False Cause contextualizes the statues in the long arc of Confederate memory & white supremacy:

adamhdomby.com/publications

To complete that circle, Domby recently reviewed Cox’s book for @BlkPerspectives:
aaihs.org/black-resistan…

The must-watch new PBS @POVdocs film @itsnotneutral features these & many other scholars:
pbs.org/pov/watch/neut…

@AshleighWrites’ work on Black memory adds a vital component to histories that shouldn’t be framed only through the lens of white supremacy:
udayton.edu/magazine/2020/…

@KevinLevin has likewise added key contexts to these conversations, as in this excellent @TheAtlantic essay on Richmond’s Monument Avenue:
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

& this @brendanwolfe piece on how the monuments went up remains a compelling & crucial read today:
wolfe-brendan.medium.com/history-writ-a…

A number of UVa profs have also long been providing vital commentaries & contexts. Here’s a great thread from @sivavaid:

https://twitter.com/sivavaid/status/1413824650677821441?s=20

@Jalane_Schmidt has been leading these conversations for a good while now:
slate.com/news-and-polit…

@johnedwinmason’s work with Cville photography, history, & memory is unparalleled:

johnedwinmason.typepad.com

@agmahler’s work on the Global South & social movements helps us think about this weekend’s activism in international contexts:
annegarlandmahler.com

@UVADeanKvD has helped uncover & trace so many salient UVa & Cville histories:

kirtvondaacke.net/writing

& the @slaveryuva commission is a must-follow for all such conversations in & beyond Cville:
slavery.virginia.edu

Here’s one example of a great piece based on that commission’s findings (& shared this morning by @socialistdogmom):
news.virginia.edu/content/uva-an…

With the first of what I’m sure will be many important new pieces inspired by this current Cville moment, here’s Liz Varon for @madebyhistory:
washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/0…

Here’s an example of @craftypanda’s excellent live tweeting & reporting from the scene:

https://twitter.com/craftypanda/status/1414183184732991490?s=20

Here’s another great local journalistic source & resource, @cvilletomorrow:
cvilletomorrow.org/articles/sacaj…

I learned about that source from another Cville voice, scholar, & educator we should all be following, this weekend & all the time, @CarisAdel:

https://twitter.com/CarisAdel/status/1413929759092920327?s=20

& here’s thoughtful national coverage of the removals in @MotherJones:
motherjones.com/politics/2021/…

There are also of course crucial broader historical contexts for the statues, & must-read scholars on them. For the early 20C 2nd KKK, for example, that’s @kelly_j_baker:

kellyjbaker.com/writing/gospel…

For the broader triumph of neo-Confederate narratives in the century after the Civil War, @HC_Richardson’s most recent book is the place to start:
google.com/books/edition/…

For the histories of racial terrorism that these white supremacist statues are part of, you’ve got to start with the work of @KidadaEWilliams:

kidadaewilliams.com

& for a thoughtful take on both Southern & military history in conversation with Lee & the Lost Cause, check out @Ty_Seidule’s book:

tyseidule.com

Finally, I’ve written about my hometown, the statues, & related histories a number of times over the years, including two of my @SatEvePost Considering History columns. This one:
saturdayeveningpost.com/2018/08/consid…

& this one:
saturdayeveningpost.com/2019/08/consid…

& I’ll end w/one of my more personal public scholarly pieces, this one for @acthistreview (thanks to @wihorne for making it happen):
activisthistory.com/2017/10/27/seg…

PS. Other voices, pieces, sources, & resources (including your own) you’d share for this important moment? Add ‘em here, please! #twitterstorians