4 chapters across the catalog
History Rewriting, Statue Removal, Cesar Chavez Day
Mimi Smith Dvorak argues that the removal of Cesar Chavez's name from schools and the cancellation of his holiday—established by Barack Obama—is a form of historical erasure. Adam Curry compares this to the removal of statues of Washington and Jefferson. They discuss how narratives are being shifted to remove "heroes" who no longer fit current ideological standards.
Modern Interpretations of Civil War Motivations and Reparations
There is an ongoing debate regarding why modern educational and political narratives insist the Civil War was solely about slavery despite historical evidence of broader political motivations. Some suggest this focus serves to justify demands for reparations or to politically marginalize the American South. The desecration of Confederate graves and the removal of statues are seen by some as attempts to trigger further domestic division or even a new civil conflict.
University of Texas Statue Removals and Historical Revisionism
University of Texas at Austin President Greg Fenves ordered the overnight removal of several Confederate statues from the campus main mall, including likenesses of Robert E. Lee and James Stephen Hogg. The decision followed the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, and a task force recommendation initiated after the 2015 Charleston church shootings. The statues are being relocated to the Briscoe Center for American History.
Historical Revisionism and the Young Turk Revolution
Turkish narratives regarding the 1915 massacres are shifting to blame Kurdish irregulars for the deaths of Armenians during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The segment criticizes this as a form of face-saving revisionism. It also notes that the term "Young Turks" refers to the revolutionary group responsible for the genocide, making its modern use by media outlets like *The Young Turks* controversial.
