No Common Ground: Confederate Monuments and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice

by Karen L. Cox

When it comes to Confederate monuments, there is no common ground. Polarizing debates over their meaning have intensified into legislative maneuvering to preserve the statues, legal battles to remove them, and rowdy crowds taking matters into their own hands. These conflicts have raged for well over a century--but they've never been as intense as they are today.

In this eye-opening narrative of the efforts to raise, preserve, protest, and remove Confederate monuments, Karen L. Cox depicts what these statues meant to those who erected them and how a movement arose to force a reckoning. She lucidly shows the forces that drove white southerners to construct beacons of white supremacy, as well as the ways that antimonument sentiment, largely stifled during the Jim Crow era, returned with the civil rights movement and gathered momentum in the decades after the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Monument defenders responded with gerrymandering and heritage laws intended to block efforts to remove these statues, but hard as they worked to preserve the Lost Cause vision of southern history, civil rights activists, Black elected officials, and movements of ordinary people fought harder to take the story back. Timely, accessible, and essential, No Common Ground is the story of the seemingly invincible stone sentinels that are just beginning to fall from their pedestals.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Race, Politics, American History, Audiobook, Social Justice

208 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2021

About the author

Karen L. Cox is professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Cox received her BA and MA in history from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and her Ph.D. from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1997.

Reviews

[Gregory Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is quite recent, with the epilogue bringing the history of Confederate monuments into the 2020s. The penultimate chapter on the Charleston shooting shows that this is not so much "history" as it is current events. If you are looking for a book to explain "everything going on" regarding race and historical memory in the 21st century United States, look no further than this excellent volume from Karen Cox.

The early part of the book gives the historical roots of the Confederacy, settling oft-trodden debates about the purpose of the Confederacy. Cox writes with the certainty of a historical scholar regarding the reasons behind the war and jumps quickly to the lasting memory of the war. The main portion of the book focuses on the construction of monuments and how that process, often led by organizations like the United Daughters of the Confederacy, sought to commemorate and glorify the Confederacy. This point is proven with several examples, using archival analysis and the historian's keen eye for detail.

The interconnectedness of Confederate memory and white supremacy is difficult to miss in the book. There are many examples given of lynching, murders, and violence in the name of the "glorious" history of the Confederacy.

One of the strengths of the book is that Cox does not conflate "southerness" with neo-Confederate ideology. It is indeed possible to be proud of being southern without glorifying the *Gone with the Wind* mythological past. There's a rootedness to the analysis that always comes back to solid source work that I found refreshing. Far too often this genre of book ends up feeling like more of a political screed than a legitimate work of scholarship. I am happy to report that Cox does an excellent job of supporting the anecdotes and case studies that define the book's arguments.

I would recommend this book to anyone teaching a Civil War and Reconstruction class. Further, I would highly recommend it for any undergraduate political science courses. It wrestles well with identity and how generational trends inform worldviews and voting patterns. I would certainly support using this book in a wide range of courses at the graduate level, including Southern History, Civil War Memory, and War and Society courses. This is an excellent, timely, (and I might add succinct) volume on one of the most important historical and political topics of our age.

[Kenneth Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book on the place that Confederate monuments have in our society and current events. The author begins the narrative with the history of the building of the monuments themselves. After the Civil War ended, the monument movement began. The prime movers of of this were in many cases women’s groups such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy. This group became not only the prime advocate and fundraising organization for building of the monuments, but also one of the leading forces in the “Lost Cause” myth. These monuments helped perpetuate the southern myth that the war was fought not to preserve slavery but to protect state’s rights and the southern way of life. This myth ignores the fact that slavery was the basis for that way of life.
The monuments became one of the pillars of White Supremacy that lead to Jim Crow and the continued suppression of African Americans. The book then follows the efforts to remove the statues and other symbols of the Confederacy. It shows how this controversy has come to play a major issue in our social fabric today.
The book enlightened my understanding of the effect these monuments and symbols such as Confederate battle flags have had in supporting racism and White Supremacy.

[Carianne Carleo-Evangelist · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book by an author who has an extensive portfolio on tourism in the south and the proponent of "Dixie" as a destination. In this book, Cox looks at the Lost Cause myth and its impact on the continuing construction of Confederate monuments and memorials 150+ years after the end of the Civil War. While some milestones led to not unexpected increases in these monuments, other than World Wars I and II, communities continued to fundraise and advocate for these statues almost consistently. It was amazing to see the funds raised and what their equivalents are now. Cox also drew the parallels between the statues and flags' placements on/near courthouses and what that symbolized together with the racist laws that were passed therein.

Although this began before the events of 2020, the epilogue and several codas incorporates BLM and the murder of George Floyd as those events led to the most significant removal of monuments, although many still remain.

An excellent, quick read.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Review of the Audiobook

Published in 2021 by Tantor Audio.
Read by David Sadzin.
Duration: 6 hours, 44 minutes.
Unabridged.

At it's core, this book is a history of Confederate monuments and what they mean(t) to all of the people who live and work around them.


These monuments are tied in with the "Lost Cause" view of history that teaches that the Confederate cause was a just one, that the war had nothing to do with slavery and that the Confederate cause is only suppressed, but not dead.

These monuments are a vivid reminder about the "not dead" part. When the first big waves of monuments were out up (late 1800's) the Jim Crow laws were becoming standardized. During this time period, the Supreme Court decided in favor of racial segregation in the case Plessy v Ferguson (1896) and that project continued in earnest throughout the South.

The monuments did honor the Confederate veterans, but they were also placed in symbolic areas like courthouses and town squares told African-Americans that they were not in charge and would never be in charge. The statue of the guy that fought to keep them enslaved in front of the halls of justice is a constant reminder. The author found multiple references to African Americans who stated they never entered the court house on the side where the statue was as a way of refusing to be intimidated.

The book details some more current struggles over Confederate monuments, including monuments that some people are still trying to put up even today(!) The arguments for them are pretty much the same as they were 100 years ago and they were pretty weak and tone deaf arguments back then. How were they tone deaf? People argue that the monument is to honor the region's culture and it is really just to honor a bunch of white guys from the region who fought to keep the region's black people in slavery. If you cannot imagine why the region's black people don't want to honor those soldiers...well, you are more than a little slow on the uptake (or racist - take your pick).

I rate this audiobook 4 stars.

https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2023...

[Caleb Lagerwey · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a brief and clear book, Karen Cox demonstrates how the history of Confederate monuments--and that of other Confederate iconography like the battle flag--is rooted in white supremacy and racial oppression. She thoroughly debunks the Lost Cause mythology around the Civil War and Reconstruction, and even though that portion will be familiar to anyone who has studied history in the last 50 years, it bears repeating and showcasing. Through primary source accounts, Cox uses stories and statistics from the Civil War up through 2020 to showcase the fights over Confederate monuments and persuasively argues for their removal as the US attempts to grapple with its past and present racism.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, Dr. Cox hits the nail on the head. This is a quick read at 175 pages, and a much needed read. If you want a quick version to understand what has been happening in our country, read this. Dr. Cox helps illustrate the important aspect of this Confederate monuments debacle, that people have always been offended about these symbols. This isn't new. Combined with her excellent work in the book Dixie's Daughters, she truly helps the reader to understand where we've come from, why people are still so divided over what the civil war was fought over, and what may need to happen for us to ever move forward

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's remarkable in both approach and insight. To start with, she breaks things up by era--going from Reconstruction, the 20th century, to recent times. That helps you understand the now, in an odd way, as you get an understanding of how excuses about removing Confederate monuments have been built on the stupidity of the past. These people are literally putting these criminals up on a pedestal. She's does a great job of condensing the history, and also articulating some things that we should've been taught. I think one interview towards the end could've been elaborated on, but that's a minor complaint. Highly recommended.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a well-written, balanced, and well-supported treatise on an important topic. The author clearly laid out the history and meaning of confederate monuments central to the debate. Reading this book helped me to have a better understanding of the conflict and the stances of the many sides of the conflict and allowed me to refine my own opinion. I recommend the book to anyone looking to better understand the monument debate.

[al · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first 2 chapters are a pretty succinct rehash of Dixie's Daughters, but chapters 3-6 are great and showing the impact of confederate monuments into our contemporary society. Both books are definitely worth the read, as they both go in depth about different aspects of confederate monuments and their perpetuation of the lost cause narrative.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Cox's work on the South and Civil War memorialiation, i.e. in regards to the United Daughters of the Confederacy, is well known. This compact volume contributes to the ongoing dialog/debate about Confederate monuments and memorializations. Dr. Cox documets a few important things:
* That the establishment of Confederate monuments was never "just history" but interrelated with the political messaging of white supremacy and the Lost Cause

* That the establishment of Confederate monuments was contested from the beginning--particularly by Black Americans, and was never perceived of as a neutral act of remembering. She taps into the organization efforts and the dedications of many statues to show that white supremacy was part and parcel of their purposes. Dr. Cox shows that across the 20th century, Black Americans (and sometimes their white allies) protested these monuments. She also shows that defenders of Confederate monuments and statues incorporated aspects of white supremacy well into the 20th century.

* That although white supremacy may no longer be publicly tolerable, the defense of Confederate monuments is not separate from the white supremacy that established them. She also provides insight into the neo-Confederacy movement to show how current defenses of the monuments deliberately glosses over this uncomfortable past, and shrouds them in the notion of "history" or "heritage."

Dr. Cox provides much to think about in terms of how we should be thinking, in light of their history, about Confederate monuments today.

[Kelsey Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for my dissertation research and I cried.

I have… a special history with Confederate monuments and this history has shaped my life in unique and unexpected ways.

I was fascinated with the history of this book and how Cox deftly navigated such sensitive topics and provided a balanced explanation of the history of Confederate memorials while maintaining a clear stance on exactly what these monuments meant. I appreciated that she exposed the Lost Cause myth, calling it for what it is— historical revisionism— and asserted that these monuments extend a legacy of racism and hatred. It was refreshing to find such moral claims in academic work.

I was inspired and I can only hope my own research voice can do the same one day.

[Marisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karen L. Cox does a lovely job with this book. Confederate monuments are such a heated topic right now, and Cox excellently breaks down why yes, they ARE racist with ties to white supremacy as well as the white supremacist excuses that are behind wanting to leave them up. Public historians in American history, particularly at sites with painful narratives surrounding slavery, need to read this, and I hope to see more of my peers talking about it. Highly recommend!

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a nice collection of varied perspectives and monument installations/protests throughout history. It was educational, but I don't think I am the intended audience, and it felt very much so throughout the reading. This book seems to be directed at those completely unknowing or ignorant of the situation, instead of monument protesters and defenders alike. It wasn't hard-hitting enough to be speaking to the monument defenders; it felt like it was only merely speaking of them. And throughout it just felt like too "duh?" to be for people who are aware of the racism the monuments pack, or even those who just get. It was meant for Americans, but it felt as if it were more for people unaware of the cultural dynamics of America (non-Americans), if you get my gist.

Sometimes I get frustrated on the focus we spend on those who "just don't know." They lack awareness because they a. don't care or b. have no connection to it. Because of this, spending time, energy, and resources on "enlightening" these small, un-impactful group of people seems to be a waste; the majority of those picking up this book are typically those who already get it - they don't necessarily need a history lesson to oppose a monument of a white supremacist traitor. I think if the writing was a bit more direct (even a little accusatory) and reflective, it would have felt less like a neoliberal history lesson and more like a call to action and change, inside and outside of ourselves.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started a little slow and basically told the same history of confederate revisionist history being taught and sown by UDC and other groups that John Oliver's piece on the Confederacy put very succinctly in 20 minutes. It did continue to draw the parallel of resistance to confederate monuments and arguments against taking them down. I thought it especially interesting how neo-confederates continuously adopted the language of the social movements at the time, first calling the preservation of confederate monuments "equality for white people" before referring to the monuments as being important to "confederate-americans" and finally just holding signs saying "Confederate lives matter." The author did a great job calling out bullshit when it was spoken, and I wish the argument had gotten more sane since the late 19th century, but it hasn't really. One dude quoted in this book said at a city council meeting that adding a statue of a prominent Black American (I forget who) to a street lined with confederate monuments would be like "putting a toilet in the living room." OUT LOUD! HE SAID THAT SHIT OUT LOUD! And you don't want to guess when this was said, because it was way more recent than you'd hope. In conclusion, Massachusetts is the best and you may as well give this book a read.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was born and raised in the South, yet I never understood the romanticized view some people seem to have of the Confederacy. This book explains why so many have such views, and why you see monuments to Confederates scattered across the South. For anyone interested in the current controversy, this is a must read.

The final paragraph of the book sums up everything succinctly:

"What Harvey Gantt described to me in August 2020 helps explain why there is no common ground in the debate over Confederate monuments. In the simplest of terms, it's about competing versions of history. One is based in fact and the centrality of slavery to the Civil War and of white supremacy in the building of monuments. The other is based on a fabricated account of a battle over states' rights, stripped of the ugliness of slavery, which massages the truth as a means of dealing with Confederate defeat and regards monuments as honoring a just cause and virtuous heritage. For more than 150 years, this erroneous version of the past has dominated the culture of the South, but as the removal of monuments since 2015 suggests, the Lost Cause's days may be numbered. And with that, perhaps, there is common ground ahead."

[Raughley Nuzzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cox's book puts the issue of Confederate symbols and monuments in excellent context, detailing where and why they were erected and what they mean to a range of people who encounter them. To many White southerners, they represent their "heritage," which is knowingly or unknowingly a stand-in for "white supremacy" and a false narrative of the Lost Cause myth of Civil War history. For non-White Americans (and especially Black Americans), these monuments represent white supremacy and oppression. They are constant reminders of the second-class status that so many Americans have been forced to endure for generations.

This book does a great job of unmasking the arguments in favor of preserving such monuments as disingenuous and harmful. Cox's background as a librarian and historian helps her paint a historically grounded picture of the context of the monuments and the extent to which Black Americans in particular have been arguing in circles with the pro-monument crowd. These statues go up in times of Civil Rights progress and only now start to come down in large numbers. The fact that Confederate Monuments have gone up in every decade since the Civil War is abominable. Here's hoping we fix that soon!

[Alex Milton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Karen L. Cox’s No Common Ground: Confederate Monuments and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice contextualizes the memorialization of the United States Civil War within twentieth and twenty-first century civil rights protests. She argues that civil rights activists have not found common ground because the monuments were intentionally designed as tools to reinforce white supremacy. African American activists have protested Confederate monuments throughout the entirety of the twentieth century because of their direct connection to promote a lost cause narrative of the Civil War and promote Jim Crow laws. No Common Ground contributes to Civil War memorialization historiography by focusing on the connection between monuments and Black civil rights movements. While protests have continued into the twenty-first century, the political landscape has changed, leading to state and local governments enacting laws to prevent the removal of such monuments. Although the book’s focus on twentieth century civil rights movements and confederate monuments is largely synthetic in research, the book provides extensive original research in connecting modern Black Lives Matter protests.

[Rebecca Brenner Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

No Common Ground by Karen L. Cox is the definitive history of Confederate monuments and their surrounding controversies. Cox traces the origins of these monuments, which aim to preserve Confederate power, white supremacy, and the “lost cause” narrative. She builds from their origins through the present, as diverse activists mobilize to resist the “lost cause” myth and its monuments. No Common Ground offers a masterful public-history analysis. Cox unpacks the motives and stories behind these public displays of a violent historical narrative with a focus on its intended audiences. Confederate monuments idolize a fictitious antebellum utopia and inflict white supremacist terror. Cox adds that related studies in other disciplines such as sociology, as well as microhistories of individual monuments, ought to build on her scholarship.

[Randy Rasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid history of racism, white supremacy, and the racial justice movement, as viewed through the lens of public monuments and symbols, such as confederate monuments, memorials, and flags. This is a good companion piece to Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause, another book that examines the mythology and iconography behind the Confederate legacy.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've ever wanted to learn more about how and why Confederate monuments were made, as well as the parallel history of Black activists calling for their removal, then this is the book for you. Cox provides an incredibly detailed and well-researched history from Reconstruction all the way up to the summer of 2020. I learned so much from this book. For instance, did you know that Robert E. Lee was against the idea of Confederate monuments and memorials? Yes, you heard that right.

Highly, highly recommended.

[Kayla Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of my favorite reads for classes during my time in college! lots of sound research and an interesting historical timeline throughout the book. overall, coz explores the opposing perspectives and education on past events which lead to different perceptions of history. this is a major issue with our country’s memory of the confederacy. the remembrance of this institution continues to perpetuate racist narratives, actions, and systems rather than working towards a just society. very short and informative, would recommend!

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sheer amount of monuments to the Confederacy that were created all over the south, starting in cemeteries,but quickly being put in prominent places such as city hall grounds plus the battles to keep them and add more as we came into the 21st century is mind blowing and shameful. The author includes clips from many speeches and newspaper articles to prove her point that these monuments were established by people wanting to keep their white supremacist societies alive.

[Janet Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meticulously researched and annotated by the history professor author. I've heard of the United Daughters of the Confederacy all my life and known some members. This book was a real eye-opener about the history of the UDC. I had no idea what a driving force the organization was in the erection of hundreds of Confederate monuments. I'm so glad I never applied for membership!

[David Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent look at the history and current events of Confederate monuments. A must read for everyone interesting in our history - both the factual history and the "alternative facts" history created to support white supremacy.

David J. Kent
Author, "Lincoln: The Fire of Genius"
President, Lincoln Group of DC

[Charlsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent most of the book wondering what new ideas Cox was contributing to the conversation of our ongoing reckoning with Confederate monuments, but it seems the author was just setting the stage for the final two chapters and epilogue. Have patience; she really starts hitting back at the end.

[RyleeAnn Andre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful read! I definitely enjoyed reading about the history of Confederate monuments and how they also relate to current events. A little dry at times, but it was still a pretty good book for a class.

[Eric Burroughs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative book on the history of the monuments that Trump wants to put back. Must be why the drunk cuck Hesgeth had it removed from the Naval Academy libraries. Remember, the books they ban are the ones to seek out.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book is full of big things, and it’s a fantastic look at the history of confederate monuments and the ongoing fight to rid our country of them.

[Mary Tuttle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of the history of those monuments.

[Alicyn Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

A devastating and concise history that clearly shows white supremacy is the heart of confederate monuments and other symbols like the battle flag. A worthwhile and important read.