Washington’s National Cathedral is mulling whether it needs to remove two stained glass windows that feature Confederate generals, a year after it removed a Confederate flag from another window.
The windows, sponsored by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, depict Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. Stonewall Jackson and were installed in 1953.
Church officials had originally decided to wait until next summer to make an announcement regarding the future of the windows, but now say the events in Charlottesville have caused them to reconsider that timeline.
“The events in Charlottesville have certainly added a sense of urgency that wasn’t there before,” cathedral spokesman Kevin Eckstrom told WRC.
Under consideration are two options, one that would remove the window entirely and another that would leave the window intact but would give a historical context to the images.
“We have two choices: one is to remove the windows, or the other is to somehow contextualize them. We’re looking at both to see which one makes the most sense for this cathedral. But one thing’s for sure: those windows won’t remain in their current place in their current context. Something is going to change,” Eckstrom added.
Another window at the cathedral serves as a Civil War memorial and depicts two hands grasping an olive branch, symbolizing how the nation sought to heal after the war.
The Washington National Cathedral is located in Northwest Washington and often serves as a national place of mourning.
