Monuments Remind Us of the Past

I applaud the decision of the trustees to retain the statue of John Witherspoon in Firestone Plaza. I believe that monuments of negative “heroes” of our past at Princeton and throughout the U.S. should remain in place to remind us of the ugly history of our nation as it relates to the subjugation, discrimination, and dehumanization of individuals of African descent. Removing these statues could incline individuals with nefarious motives to attempt to rewrite history. Their presence serves to remind all of us of what author Jim Wallis refers to as “America’s original sin.” God forbid that we forget and repeat the sins of the fathers.