False Equivalency: Facts vs. Monuments

By Rene’ Syler

Let’s be clear: removing Confederate statues is not the same as erasing history. Rene’ Syler explains why this false equivalency is both harmful and misleading.

Someone posted in my comments the other day that the removal of Confederate statues under the Biden administration was the same as the Trump administration's order to remove things that it feels portray Americans in a negative light, such as depictions of "Whipped Peter" and other historical content.

This is what is commonly referred to as a false equivalency.

Here's why:

1. Facts vs. Monuments

The photo of “Whipped Peter” is historical evidence. It’s documentation of what happened under slavery, as undeniable as a fingerprint at a crime scene. To remove that is to erase truth. Confederate statues, on the other hand, were not erected to tell the truth of history. They were built to celebrate men who fought to keep Black people enslaved. (See: https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/whose-heritage-4th-edition-part-i/)

2. The Timing of Statues Matters

Did you know most of those Confederate statues didn’t pop up right after the Civil War? They came in two big waves:

Early 1900s, during Jim Crow → when Black Americans were building businesses, gaining political power, and asserting rights, these statues went up as intimidation tools—a way of saying, “Don’t forget who’s in charge.”

1950s–60s, during the Civil Rights Movement → once again, at a moment of Black empowerment, statues were raised as pushback against progress.

So the statues weren’t about preserving memory. They were about maintaining white supremacy during periods of racial challenge. (https://www.history.com/.../how-the-u-s-got-so-many...)

3. Celebrating vs. Confronting

Statues = celebration. They put men on pedestals, literally casting them in bronze and stone as “heroes.”

Historical photos, documents, and museum exhibits = confrontation. They force us to face uncomfortable truths so we can learn from them.

Taking down a Lee statue is saying, “We no longer celebrate the men who fought to enslave.” Taking down Whipped Peter’s photo is saying, “We don’t want to face what actually happened.” Those are not the same. (https://www.nps.gov/.../memorialization-of-robert-e-lee...)

4. Memory vs. Myth

Removing the photograph erases memory of what was endured.

Removing the statue dismantles myth—the myth of the “Lost Cause,” which reframed Confederates as noble defenders of “heritage.” That myth is

what allowed so many Americans to deny or downplay the brutality of slavery. ( https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/.../how-the-lost.../...)

So when I share my own lived experience, I’m not “being racist”; I’m naming reality. Dismissing it as “all in my head” is just another way of protecting comfort over truth. If we’re ever going to move forward as a country, we have to stop clinging to vibes and start dealing with facts.