What started out as an earnest effort by some to remove statues glorifying a rebellion by the slavery-defending Confederacy has devolved into an absurd effort to destroy all vestiges of the past. Things became especially stupid in Boston as 2020 came to a close, with the city removing the Emancipation Memorial.

Viewed without any context or understanding of its history, it appears to show a slave kneeling before President Abraham Lincoln. In actuality, what the statue depicts is Lincoln holding the Emancipation Proclamation and the slave, shackles broken, looking forward toward his freedom.

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