Historians at Baylor University are not saying whether or not they think Confederate statues and monuments should come down or remain standing, but they are providing some perspective on the debate that's a source of great controversy nationwide.
Dr. Kim Kellison says it's important to study history from a variety of sources.
"History for a long time has been written mainly from a white narrative," Dr. Kellison said. "But if you look at other narratives it opens up this debate. It makes it emotive and raw sometimes. But I think there is a much larger picture to be examined."
The problem, according to Kellison, is that it's hard to find the constructive debate on this issue right now.
"I think we're in a very troublesome place as far as our national dialogue," Dr. Kellison said. "I think it's problematic that the monuments are openly being used as symbols of ---hatred by some groups."
Kellison's colleague Doctor Brendan Payne has a proposed solution. He suggests posting additional information with opposing viewpoints at the sites of existing Confederate monuments and statues.
"No matter what our monuments are, if we would have monuments that include larger parts of the story and different points of view and allow those to dialogue with each other, I think that's very important," Dr. Payne said.
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