Not that it was a great part of our history, but that it is our history. If the truth be known, Lincoln wasn't altogether sure that he should free the slaves and many of our presidents; although they professed that all men are created equal, had slaves. So...who was it that said, "History is written by the victor"? ~ Gee.
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it's important we stand up and shout loudly.
I like that your poem does this.
Just one thing - this line
'So here in the land of so called free'
Do you need the so at the start of the line? I think it avoids repetition and also reads better without it.
just my opinion, as always feel free to ignore.
A good poem and I enjoyed it.
Jx

History is not found in pieces of stone or cloth.
It is found in the memories of those who refuse to forget, those who appreciate what was lost, what was gained, and how it came to be.
I agree with some of what has been going on; symbols of oppression and hatred remind millions of us that that hatred and oppression still exist, and will come back in full force without due diligence and constant vigilance.
BUT, removing the objects that remind us all of those things, is wrong. When I see a statue of some confederate dignitary, it reminds me that we are not finished, that the struggle for freedom must continue.
Which is why I find them so ironic, these politically-correct removals, these 'sanitizings' of our history, and the present; what they really serve is to sweep the reality of the past that affects our present under the proverbial rug, so that we forget what our nation suffered through, to be what it is.
And its hypocrisy, too - I don't see them taking down statues of Washington, or Jefferson, two of the largest slavers of their day.

You know, I still have copies of letters home written by my great-five-times grandfather, who fought for the Union, and among the requests for socks and blankets and the desire to see her again, he tells his future wife just that - the blues all shouted Preserve The Union, as they charged into battle.
I put the current atmosphere of anti-confederacy right up there with the anti-intellectualism our nation has suffered from since Regan. There is no thought, no reflection, no real discussion or reasoning, just the gut-wrench of emotional reaction, hatred, and thoughtlessness.

was totally deplorable, of course, but initially the disagreement was about states' rights and, as so often in human history, economical issues. Only deeper into the war did Lincoln set the slaves free to serve as cannon fodder. He turned emancipation into a military policy. Even if Abe hated the institution of slavery, he didn’t see the Civil War as a struggle to free the nation’s 4 million slaves from bondage. Emancipation, when it came, would have to be gradual. The important thing to do was to prevent the Southern rebellion from severing the Union permanently in two.
About slavery? Given just a little more time, the nation's moral compass would have pointed slave owners into the right direction. The civil war was so danged wasteful and unnecessary. In the end, emancipated slaves became "indentured" sharecroppers, a lot that was not much different from slavery. About the silly attempt to remove all historical vestiges in the South?
History written by the winner--bah! Give'em hell, Johnny Reb! Three cheers for Bobby Lee! lol.
Ali

Line one, "This" should be "These"? Sounds better, and the repetition (these, those) might give more focus to the anger and contempt that the poem makes me feel for them, in the beginning.

This savages, those Taliban ("these" savages...?)

I'll leave the rest alone.
Robert Lee was a hero who may have led either side. Changing the images of history does not change history.
Powerful statement.

from state capitals. We're a Union now, but removing statues of warrior heroes is unnecessary and smacks of rewrite as you mentioned. Robert Lee and his peers were heroes for a cause. Their memorials are there and should stay. There need be no debate. They lost, but history is history. Changing it is impossible. Trying is foolish.

to house our history. The artifacts should not be destroyed but gently moved to the museums. The premise of the Civil War is still one side wanted to enslave people, the other side said no, and the death of hundred's of thousands was the result. all the Generals were butchers- Sherman and Lee. Let their statues be part of history...not the public parks. Germany doesn't need statues of Hitler in the plaza's but the should be preserved for history, as artifacts of the time. I would feel the same about seeing a statue of Hitler in the park as a black person does seeing Jefferson Davis.
I don't think the connection is valid. It is sick that all the Christians cut off the penis' of all the Greek statues, or Isis (not the Taliban) bombed the ancient ruins. I think its sick to destroy the statues of the Confederacy. We should have the foresight to preserve them, but just not in the center of town.

yes, leaders imperfect. Gandi is no longer the saint after his pro-apartheid leanings.
FDR and Wilson were both intensely anti-semantic. But history takes a broader look, these men changed history and worked for peace. Columbus was no saint...
We cannot have statues having sex in public, or sadistic takes of Jesus.

Our public statues or for those with a universal fame and purpose.- the founders, the philosophers, and the individual warriors who were victorious or sacrificed for great causes. Even in the case of stupid wars, like WWI, without a clear reason to fight other than tribal hatreds, the Vietnam war, or the Iraq War- wars built on lies and deceptions..here we can, we must have statues to commemorate the dead soldiers. That includes the civil war. Those that fought because they felt "duty called"
General monuments to the fallen are part of our history.

But what those generals who led for an unjust cause, such as the civil war, a war to keep the institution of slavery. There they sit on their horses leading the charge in front of the state houses. Their American dream is dead, We do not honor that dream. All the statues of Stalin have been taken down. He only killed as a many as 50 million people. He is history too. Just bad history.

I don't see any statues of Hitler or Goebbels in Germany, and we don't need statues in praise of those Confederates who did nothing notable other than lead men to their death to protect their right to enslave people. History has judged them. Put their statues in a museum.

They are not to be compared with Obama, the first black President which, due his intellect and personality, became a symbol of hope for the world. Despite the fact that he deported more illegal aliens than any other president and all the rest of the stuff he did that you would never, ever in a thousand years acknowledge as your are, as you poisoned about him as I am of Trump. And one thing for sure- I do not think "Tarriff Man" will ever get a statue in our lifetime. We do not put our traitors in our public places. Whoever has not figured out that is the case by now, never will.