GONE WITH THE WIND

At 8:22 a.m., today, August 26, 2020, the giant column that once held a colossal statue of John C. Calhoun, came crashing down in Marion Square, in downtown Charleston. The statue had been removed in June. The base of the monument is to be removed later. For anyone who knows anything about Charleston, the demolition of the Calhoun memorial is a "monumental" change in the city. It would have been unthinkable even a few years ago. It is hard to imagine driving down Calhoun Street and not seeing the dark figure of John Calhoun high in the sky as if a god overseeing his world. For several years I drove down Calhoun Street twice a day on my way to and from the public library, a few blocks east of the square. I was a librarian in the South Carolina Room. Of course, if anyone wants to visit John Calhoun, his actual grave is a few blocks away in St. Philip's cemetery. It still has the bayonet gashes from the Civil War. The removal of the 124-year-old colossal monument to Calhoun is controversial, but I for one see it as progress toward a more equitable and just society. It is time to put our dark past behind us and move toward the light of racial reconciliation.

Find the Post and Courier article about today's event here .