I mean, really, dudes

[mme_hardy]

The National Cathedral is debating what to do about windows celebrating Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson that were donated by the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1953.

Here are two of the Jackson windows.



That is, without a doubt, the iconography of sainthood. Jackson is being welcomed into Heaven with the words "So he passed over and all the trumpets sounded for him", which is from Pilgrim's Progress.

Stonewall Jackson was a 'kind' slaveowner (yes, sneer quotes) who sold his slaves after the beginning of the civil war because "the excitement of the times proved so demoralizing to them". (A grandson of one of his slaves erected a memorial window to him. People are complicated.) He fought in defense of slavery.

He was not a fucking saint. The Daughters of the Confederacy donated windows depicting him as such. (The National Cathedral removed the Confederate Battle flag from these windows and from the Robert E. Lee windows, which have the same issues, last year.) A cathedral window should not be glorifying him.

Comments

[nineveh_uk]

Sounds like it is time for them to go into a museum accompanied by contextual information.

[muccamukk]

If you read contemporary accounts from his slaves and slaves who had to work with him in the army, they weren't fans. And... let's take invading Mexico off there generally?

[sovay]

Jackson is being welcomed into Heaven with the words "So he passed over all and all the trumpets sounded for him", which is from Pilgrim's Progress.

I didn't know these windows existed. Yikes.

[edit] I suppose it is a sign of how normalized the entire Lost Cause mythos had become that the Daughters of the Confederacy could have a pauper's bible of their most famous generals installed in the National Cathedral, because otherwise that is just an incredibly strange thing to read.

[garpu]

Wish I could say I'm surprised at the reaction. Or non-reaction, as the case may be. :/

[duskpeterson]

Here's an interesting editorial on the topic:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/should-the-lee-windows-at-the-national-cathedral-be-removed/2017/04/28/05af59a0-2381-11e7-bb9d-8cd6118e1409_story.html

Some context for this: The National Cathedral has generally been progressive on issues of race, etc. Back in 2015, the cathedral's dean called for the removal of the windows. However, the Episcopal Church tends to be as slow as molasses in procedure. (No more so than most churches, I imagine.) So I'm not surprised that the conversation is still continuing after all this time.