The Colorado Statesman, which was published from 1895 to 1961, offered ample commentary in the early decades of the 1900’s on a raft of proposed monuments to enslaved Blacks who remained loyal to their masters during the Civil War. The Statesman occupied a unique position in the field of commentary on Confederate commemoration among Black journalists. Unlike other Black papers of the era, never outright condemned proposals to build “loyal slave monuments”—although they did repudiate the white-washing of enslavement that may be implied by these dedications.
An early example of this complex stance is an article of May 23, 1914, titled “Monuments to Slaves’ Fidelity.” In this piece, the Statesman reprinted and commented on segments of news reports from two mainstream papers: the Rocky Mountain News, a daily Colorado newspaper in print from 1859 to 2009,[1] and the Florida-Times Union, still extant.
The statement from Rocky Mountain News announced that at a Confederate veteran reunion in Jacksonville, Florida, “the old men in gray passed a resolution urging that monuments be erected in the capital of each state to commemorate the [slaves’] fidelity to their masters shown…during the war.”[2] The Florida Times-Union asserted that this decision was justified given that “had the slaves been hostile, the soldiers of the South could not have fought at all,” since they would not be able to leave their women and children in danger.[3]
The Statesman wrote that they took “great pleasure in publishing” the Rocky Mountain’s announcement about the monument and agreed with praising the slaves’ “fine quality of loyalty.” However, they disagreed with an assertion made by the Times-Union that the slaves’ faithfulness demonstrated a “reason for pride for both races.”[4] The Times-Union argued that “the Negroes could not have shown such unswerving loyalty to those who had oppressed and maltreated them.”[5]
The Statesman editorial staff pushed back against this claim and credited the slaves’ fidelity to their own ignorance, not the graciousness of white masters:
Their eyes were not open to see the vision of freedom. Slavery had hemmed them in and kept them down intellectually and spiritually. They did not know enough to strike for themselves the blow that lay in their refusal to raise food for the masters who were fighting against their cause.[6]
In this article, the Statesman staff demonstrated complex views on the issue of celebrating slaves’ loyalty, contending it was worthy of recognition while also calling it “pathetic.”[7]
Interestingly, less than two months later, in July, 1914 the Statesman took a stronger stance in support of these monuments to faithful slaves. The monuments voted upon at the Jacksonville meeting had not yet been built, which seemed to concern the Statesman. They remarked on this as curious “in a much bemonumented land.” The Statesman went on:
A little reflection serves to show one how richly the commemoration is deserved. Singularly beautiful and touching was the loyalty of those black people to the families of their masters. The fact that the white men dared leave their wives and children to the protection of the black men…is in itself a tribute of which the American negro [sic] can always be proud and now monuments in the capital cities of the South will permanently recall to mind a reliance that was not misplaced.[8]
In stark contrast to many other Black journalists, the Statesman saw monuments to faithful slaves as providing a necessary boost to Black racial pride. The monuments were not just a way of remembering what Black people had done in the past, but celebrating who they still were at their core.
The Statesman’s concern for the memorialization of Black bravery, faithfulness, and patriotism was an ongoing theme—and not unique to loyal slave monuments. In 1909, the Statesman published an article a few days after Memorial Day, urging for commemorations to be made to Black soldiers, including those who fought in the Civil War for both those who were “loyal to the [American] flag” and those who “filled with the feudal zeal of other days, followed their masters into the Confederate ranks.”[9] The Statesman acknowledged that “there was a time when we might have been disposed to look askance at the Negro Rebel soldier,” but asserted that African-Americans “too, must learn to forgive and forget.”[10]
The ability of commemoration to uplift the Black race was a central point in this argument:
To know the history of their deeds and achievements, and to transmit them as a priceless heritage to future generations would elevate the manhood of our race beyond the fondest expectation of our most sanguine dreamer. We must write our own history…some black Guizot or Hallam must collect the facts concerning the soldiery of our race and give them to the budding mind to study, to emulate and to inspire…We read a nation’s history in the record of its soldiery.[11]
As in the May, 1914 article, the authors emphasized the need for a permanent reminder of Black valor and Black achievement: “Flowers may fade but a shaft of marble or a tablet of brass will last while time goes to eternity…”[12]
Olivia Haynie
Please cite as:
Haynie, Olivia. “‘A Table of Brass Will Last’: Complex Views from the Colorado Statesman.” False Image of History: Perspectives on Confederate Commemoration from the Black Press (online). Fall 2024 Edition. Schaefer, Donovan O., ed. URL = https://falseimage.pennds.org/essay/“a-table-of-brass-will-last”-complex-views-from-the-colorado-statesman/.
References
Colorado Statesman. “Afro-American Cullings.” July 4, 1914.
Colorado Statesman. “Monuments to Slaves’ Fidelity.” May 23, 1914.
Colorado Statesman. “Remember Our Soldiers.” June 5, 1909.
Wikipedia. “Rocky Mountain News.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_News.
Wikipedia, “Rocky Mountain News.” ↩︎
Colorado Statesman. “Monuments to Slaves’ Fidelity.” ↩︎
Colorado Statesman. “Monuments to Slaves’ Fidelity.” ↩︎
Colorado Statesman. “Monuments to Slaves’ Fidelity.” ↩︎
Colorado Statesman. “Monuments to Slaves’ Fidelity.” ↩︎
Colorado Statesman. “Monuments to Slaves’ Fidelity.” ↩︎
Colorado Statesman. “Monuments to Slaves’ Fidelity.” ↩︎
Colorado Statesman. “Afro-American Cullings.” ↩︎
Colorado Statesman. “Remember Our Soldiers.” ↩︎
Colorado Statesman. “Remember Our Soldiers.” ↩︎
Colorado Statesman. “Remember Our Soldiers.” ↩︎
Colorado Statesman. “Remember Our Soldiers.” ↩︎