By Virginia Valencia

Donald Trump’s presidency has awaken hate, awaken bigotry and has awaken ignorance. He has single-handedly uncovered the ugly truth that was lying in wait all throughout America. That we are indeed a divided nation.

America has always been the symbol for a melting pot of cultures, of people and of beliefs. A safe haven that acknowledged that although we were all a bit different, we were all American, all proper human beings. This month has proven the world wrong.

The violent events at Charlottesville have accelerated an already intense debate over the Confederate monuments that still stand all throughout the country. Yes, Confederate statues that celebrate the wrong side of history, still erect, looming over us.

According to Washington Post, a crowd in Durham, North Carolina took matters into their own hands on Aug. 14 when they toppled a confederate statue that stood in front of a county administrative building. I applauded because just like them, I have had enough.

I am fed up with people disregarding the matter that minorities are not only seen as a lower race within Trump’s presidency but that some people believe it is okay to voice it out loud. To chant about white supremacy and glorify an era of racial unrest.

These monuments have to do with race and that is a fact.

The statues are Confederate rebels that fought to keep people underneath their heals, a whole race of people.

It has been almost 200 years since our civil war ended and yet, here they still are. A grotesque reminder to African Americans of ancestors who lived as slaves and died in the fields, at the point of a gun or at the end of a rope.  

They are a symbol of racism and of treason within America. We should not have them standing like national statues as if they were heroes or idols.

They were part of the wrong side of the battle, the wrong side of history. Civil wars should not be glorified especially one that had been fought to preserve the institution of slavery. Trump’s ignorance shines through when he tweeted on the matter with, “sad to see history and culture of our country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments”.

Glorifying them only brings forth more wrath because it is a reminder that we have not learned from history. That we are still stuck in that place of hate, racism, and prejudice. That this nation’s narrow-mindedness has never really evolved but was simply camouflaged.

The New York Times stated that “removing the statues is the easy part,” but why has it taken so long for it to happen?

We as the people need to push for change, justice, and love. It is time to rise to the point of moral decency or help us God.