Teaching Moment the Statues of John Sutter and Christopher Columbus Glorified White Supremacy and Needed to Be Removed

eSSay by William Burg Teaching moment The statues of John Sutter and Christopher Columbus glorified white supremacy and needed to be removed. But there Legislative leaders announced June 16 that a statue of Christopher Columbus are other historic places and Queen Isabella of Spain will be removed from the state Capitol. that must be recognized. Photo by Matt Fraser Preservation Sacramento, as a citywide historic erasure and the emergence of a more inclusive preservation advocacy nonprofit, supports the history of Sacramento. That legacy must include the position taken by the National Trust for Historic people and places associated with those who, until Preservation on Confederate and other monuments recently, were seldom memorialized in bronze or whose main purpose was the glorification of white marble or listed as landmarks. supremacy. The city of Sacramento already pursues that While California has few Confederate goal by identifying and preserving historic sites monuments, statues of figures like John Sutter and associated with communities of color, including Christopher Columbus taught the same lesson—that places such as Shiloh Baptist and Kyles Temple American history belongs to white men. These AME Zion Church in Oak Park. The city is also monuments reinforce past trauma, a constant considering nominations for properties associated reminder to Black, indigenous and other people of with civil rights attorney Nathaniel Colley. Last color that they were subjugated under white rule. week, we asked the city to add the Alder Grove The statue of John Sutter that was removed housing projects on Broadway (already listed as from Midtown was installed in 1987, too recently to the New Helvetia Historic District in the National qualify as a historic artifact. Donated by the United Register of Historic Places) to the Sacramento Swiss Lodge of California, it was located on Sutter Register of Historic and Cultural Resources. Hospital property across the street from Sutter’s Many other places deserve recognition and Fort. It was not funded or supported by the city or should become historic landmarks: the Royal state, but visitors undoubtedly associated the Chicano Air Force murals, mid-century statue with the fort. Modern buildings designed by local The Sutter statue’s lesson was Japanese-American and Chinese- similar to Confederate monuments American architects and sites that perpetuated a counterfactual Removing these associated with civil rights “Lost Cause” myth of the statues, historic or leaders and LGBTQ activists. antebellum South and its These places, and the people poisonous stereotypes about not, is a step toward associated with them, can slavery. The pastoral image of the greater good of inspire and engage the public Sutter as agricultural patriarch ensuring racial justice with a more inclusive history. and a kind father figure to the Similarly, Sutter’s Fort— Maidu and Miwok people he and equality. and the California State Indian terrorized and enslaved was just Museum that shares a park with as false, concealing the facts with a the fort—can tell a more inclusive noble smile. story of Sacramento’s early history The statue of Christopher Columbus and and the indigenous people who lived here Queen Isabella in the state Capitol rotunda is a millennia before Sutter arrived. historic artifact, only a decade or so younger than Plans to build a much larger California Indian the Capitol itself. However, its purpose was the Heritage Center in West Sacramento are long same—a reminder of European dominance over the deferred, possibly even longer due to COVD-related New World, with California representing the final state budget cuts, but we can use the museums we phase of conquest via manifest destiny. have to tell that greater story now. We owe it to our Removing these statues, historic or not, is a step descendants to share our legacy in a manner that is toward the greater good of ensuring racial justice thorough, honest and inclusive to all. Ω and equality. Some may be relocated to recognize their history and place them in proper context. Their removal is not an erasure of history; it William Burg is an author, historian and president is the first step toward reversing a greater cultural of Preservation Sacramento. 6 | SN&R | 07.01.20.

Load more