The monuments of the future

Plus: Gordon Parks and Nazi POWs |

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. SUBSCRIBE to TIME Magazine July 30, 2020 By Lily Rothman In the weeks since George Floyd's death, at least three dozen Confederate monuments have been brought down across the United States—and that's not even counting statues and memorials that were controversial for other reasons. With those empty statue bases comes a question about what to do next. As Americans wrestle with the meaning of the monuments that were erected in the past, how can the country put that experience to use when designing the monuments of the future? This week, Madeleine Carlisle dove deep into that question. She spoke to historians, activists, artists and others about what they'd like to see from America's next crop of monuments—and found that some experts are rethinking the entire idea. Click here to read more. Here's more of the history that made news this week: HISTORY ON TIME.COM Civil Rights Pioneer Sarah Keys to Be Honored for Bravery At a time when monument removals have sparked national debates on how to remember the past in the present, one Southern city is facing an uncomfortable episode in its history head-on When the U.S. Treated Nazi POWs Better Than Black Troops The preferential treatment of Nazi POWs told Black troops that they were fighting for a country even as that country fought against them How Camera Film Captured a Snapshot of Bias Technologies, such as photographic film, sometimes capture the issues and beliefs and values of the times Bob Moses Remembers the Fighting Spirit of John Lewis "He was the person who was going to jail. Whatever actions happened, he was right there" Reconsidering Gordon Parks' Photographs on Crime and Police Photographer Gordon Parks examined how the underlying suffering, despair and fear of marginalized groups was further exacerbated by police and prisons FROM THE TIME VAULT Today in 2001: Summer of the Shark “Suddenly reports of shark attacks—or what people thought were shark attacks—began to come in from all around the U.S. On July 15 a surfer was apparently bitten on the leg a few miles from the site of Jessie's attack. The next day another surfer was attacked off San Diego. Then a lifeguard on Long Island, N.Y., was bitten by what some thought was a thresher shark. Last Wednesday a 12-ft. tiger shark chased spear fishers in Hawaii. News crews stood on the sand to interview experts, who declared over and over that sharks killed only 10 people worldwide in 2000. But don't swim at dusk or dawn; avoid murky water and steep drop-offs; shed all jewelry. And do swimsuits in yellow—"yum-yum yellow"—attract sharks? No one was sure. Sharks don't give interviews.” (July 30, 2001) Read the full story This Week in 1973: The Nixon Tapes “As the Watergate scandal grows more incredible almost weekly, it now seems probable that an ironic twist of fate could prove decisive in determining how the President's involvement is finally perceived. The controversy that arose from the secret bugging of Democratic Party headquarters might possibly be resolved through the secret bugging of the White House, ordered by the President himself." (July 30, 1973) Read the full story Today in 1965: The World of Marc Chagall “In the azure light that angles steeply down the slopes above the French Riviera, a sparkling translucence seizes nature. Rocks seem sodden with gold, flowers bloom like dabs on a palette, even grass glistens greener. This light takes hold of a man too. For Painter Marc Chagall, it is a daily baptism in color, an immersion in what is natural, uncontrived, and miraculously innocent.” (July 30, 1965) Read the full story HIGHLIGHTS FROM AROUND THE WEB Living History In a striking reminder that history can be more recent than it seems, Sydney Trent at the Washington Post introduces readers to 88-year-old Daniel Smith, whose father was enslaved. Object Lesson As parents and educators across the U.S. grapple with how and whether to open schools this fall, Rebecca Onion at Slate looks back at one window into the impact of the 1918 flu pandemic on schoolchildren of the era. Written in Stone On Twitter, the charity English Heritage shares a cool discovery: researchers think they’ve solved one of Stonehenge’s enduring mysteries. Campaign Trail Peter Baker at the New York Times goes back to the speeches and interviews given by George Wallace as he ran for President in 1968, and finds plenty of parallels to President Trump’s rhetoric today. Other People With many people wondering who has been responsible for recent episodes during which anti-police-brutality protests defied the overall trend toward peacefulness, Richard Kreitner and Rick Perlstein at the New York Review of Books examine the history of the “outside agitator” trope. To Unsubscribe Unsubscribe here if you do not want to receive this newsletter. Update Email Click here to update your email address. Privacy Policy Please read our Privacy Policy. TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. For Further Communication Please email history@time.com TIME Customer Service P.O. Box 37508 Boone, IA 50037-0508 Connect with TIME Find TIME on Facebook Follow TIME on Twitter Subscribe to more TIME Newsletters Get TIME on your Mobile Device Get TIME on your iPad Subscribe to RSS Feed