In 2020, Emeritus Professor Dell Upton participated in a public virtual roundtable organized by the Society of Architectural Historians and inspired by the protests that year. Dell, along with a panel of experts from across the country, examined the ways in which structural racism and white supremacy have been (and still are) reinforced in American public spaces.
After the thought-provoking conversation, Professor Upton was invited to contribute to a book inspired by the roundtable’s discussion; “Empty Pedestals: Countering Confederate Narratives through Public Design”, edited by Kofi Boone and M. Elen Deming, uses a design perspective to explore how monuments to the Confederacy speak to regionalism, racist political agendas, and residual collective pain.
“Many designers and artists working in the public realm have created innovative projects to replace Confederate memorials, contextualize those that still stand, and foster new conversations about history, race, and justice in America. By drawing lessons from these initiatives and considering the questions that remain, editors Kofi Boone and M. Elen Deming hope to assist educators and students in combating endemic prejudice and other forms of social division.”
The book is now available to purchase here.
To read more about the fascinating origin of this work and the roundtable discussion that preceded it, please visit here.
