MSHP Monday Night Series: Haley Chang

Schedule

Mon Feb 06 2023 at 06:00 pm to 07:30 pm

Location

Clemson Design Center | Charleston, SC

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MSHP Monday Night Series:
About this Event

The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 is tasked with protecting supposedly appropriately deemed heritage from federal development. The NHPA along with the National Register of Historic Places and section 106 reviews work in conjunction with one another to provide some level of protection to Civil War monuments. In turn, this trio makes any possible removal/demolition of these sites nearly impossible without the possibility of years of legal action required. In the last five to seven years, white nationalist groups have increased their efforts to “save” these monuments resorting often to violent means to preserve an ideology that has been pushed since before the end of the Civil War- the Lost Cause. Local, state and federal levels should be involved in evaluating the current policies at the ten-to-fifteen-year mark and with changing political themes/societal balance to ensure that these policies correct public history narratives in light of new cultural understandings and informative events. The fifty-year rule should also be reevaluated and potentially delisting some of the sites on the National Register to start a wave of change in the preservation community as a whole. Many if not most of these monuments were erected and funded by organizations such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy and Sons of Confederate Veterans. The core belief at the center of these organizations was the Lost Cause ideology, which has existed since post-Civil War times. While these groups may have removed themselves from the limelight, they have not gone quietly into the night. These organizations are still offering public outcry and protest to keep the monuments in public places. Many say these monuments represent the patriotism, honor, and valor of the men who sacrificed their lives, but their memorialization only depicts one aspect of this critical American history and fails to offer the public a more adequate description of the Civil War’s objective to retain slavery. By examining case studies in Mississippi, and Texas that involves the removal and attempted removal of these monuments, the preservation community can seek to understand the underlying issues surrounding the monuments and their communities. As preservationists, we should strive to do better and want to do better so that a more complete telling of history is known for generations to come.
Haley Chang is a historic preservation graduate student at Boston Architectural College. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Mississippi in 2014 and worked as a medical admissions representative and credentialing for four years. Mrs. Chang is an architectural historian technician for Stantec in Austin, Texas. Her research interests include preservation policies for historical monuments, particularly Confederate statues across the South.


This lecture will be offered in person and via ZOOM.
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Where is it happening?

Clemson Design Center, 701 East Bay Street, Charleston, United States

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Tickets

USD 0.00

Clemson Design Center Charleston

Host or Publisher Clemson Design Center Charleston

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