Retired Col. Elizabeth Masters' exquisite letter on St. Augustine's Civil War Memorial to 44 Local Draftees

On the legally protected Civil War veteran monument in our plaza, the former top lawyer for Florida National Guard's commanding general, Col. Elizabeth Masters (Ret.), wrote another eloquent letter, printed in the St. Augustine Record today. Her July 11, 2017 letter called out the School Board for discrimination against a trans boy, Drew Adams I applauded and agreed with retired Florida National Guard Judge Advocate General Colonel Elizabeth Masters' eloquent July 11, 2017 letter in the St. Augustine Record, "Don’t waste time, money fighting bathroom gender," stating:.

I agree with my friend, Col. Elizabeth Masters.

Our monument is different and has been fully contextualized as a result of a rigorous process with public participation.


I attended every Contextualization Advisory Committee meeting and I agree with every single word of the contextualization plaques.

We need a monument in St. Augustine to the slaves freed here by the Emancipation Proclamation. See Dr. Susan Parker's column, below.

We need a monument to the three nuns arrested here in 1916 on orders of Florida Governor, for teaching African-Americans to read, a "crime" at the time.

We need a monument for the U.S. Colored Troops, local African-American men who helped free Fort Sumter and helped free Jacksonville and helped free slaves.

We need to rename Francis Field to Francis-Robinson Field" in honor of Jackie Robinson, who spoke here in 1964 and was forbidden to play baseball there in 1946.

We don't need to remove/destroy our 1879 Ladies Memorial Association memorial to 44 local conscripted men who died during the Civil War.

We've already sat by and done nothing as grifters destroyed Echo House, Carpenter's House and other historic structures under false pretenses.

We don't need to destroy any more St. Augustine history.

We don't need to invite civil rights litigation, which the City would lose.

We don't need to indulge violent threats.

We don't need any of that, any more than a moose needs a hatrack.

Here us Col Elizabeth Masters' letter before editing:

June 19, 2020
Re: Confederate Memorial to the Dead and Plaza Revitalization
Dear Editor: 

Learning that our Mayor has already publicly expressed how he will vote on the issue of the Confederate Memorial prior to the meeting being held to review it, is quite troubling. Having his views publicized for other commissioners to see certainly violates at a minimum the spirit of the Florida Sunshine Law and is improper. The time given for citizens to weigh in has been unduly brief. It is important for citizens to be heard in a meaningful way before decisions are made by elected officials. As a resident of the City of Saint Augustine, with local roots tracing back to 1595, I feel very invested in the future of our City, yet with no voice in decisions that affect me. A hasty vote is the wrong way to make important decisions. 

 Removing statutes glorifying confederate Civil War Generals is an easy decision to make. Removing a circa 1879 memorial with protections under the penumbra of the National Park Service’s Federal National Historic Landmark Plan requires a different review, not a hasty look. The dialogue that emerged the last time the City considered removal resulted in the addition of carefully crafted contextualized markers that now surround the memorial. These were the result of many hours of dialogue, research, and deliberation. They transformed the educational value of the memorial into a powerful vehicle for accurately evaluating history. 

 As but one example, my 18-year-old son recently participated in a local protest. He then went to the memorial to learn more about why it is controversial. While there he read accurate history from the contextualized markers. Black history is historically underreported, if not outright ignored, and the knowledge and wisdom in the markers is powerful and long overdue. He said that the memorial read to him like a “sad love story,” and that it didn’t even mention the confederacy. It was something he learned from. The memorial is a wealth of historical facts that debunk any notion that the war was about “states rights” and for a “noble cause”, “not about slavery,” etc. Sadly, it is a belief I heard expressed to me as a young person and did not fully debunk myself until I decided to read in depth and educated myself on what was true. Historical truth surrounds our memorial and is readily accessible 24/7 to anyone without cost. It is priceless for that reason alone in my opinion.
As many have stated in the past and will likely do so next week at the commission meeting, our memorial is a tribute to local militia members who perished, most buried far from home in unmarked graves. It was erected by their heartbroken families. I concur with this, and have ancestors commemorated, not glorified, by the monument. Yet to me what makes the memorial particularly relevant today, is that the danger of misuse of the military for improper purposes is still rearing its ugly head in our midst. 

 Our state militia was misused by our slave owning Governor and state legislature long ago. Ironically, our Nation recently came dangerously close to using the Insurrection Act and our Armed Forces against mostly peaceful protestors. This should serve as a reminder that potential misuse of our military remains an ever-present threat to our democracy today, as it did then. The memorial attests to this potential for misuse in a poignant way. We must never forget the high cost common citizens pay when government runs amuck with unbridled power to harm. Experts have already shared that the memorial would be unlikely to survive any move. If such destruction is rushed through, the visual memory of this unjust cause, and senseless sacrifice of Soldiers lives, will not survive either. The contextualized markers will lose their purpose without the memorial to center the messages being explained. 

It is disconcerting to learn that some elected officials are already stating how they will vote. Is the voice of the people, and the concerns of the descendants of those listed on the marker irrelevant? The City can easily vote to try to destroy something, but can the City unite the community to build history? Stating that Black Lives Matter and using a bulldozer is a poor substitute for working to truly enlarge Black History in a tangible way. As an example, in the heart of Lincolnville is an abandoned deteriorating building-the St Benedict School. It crumbles away mere blocks from the heart of City Government. The City holds no urgent meetings to figure out how to preserve this treasure. It is not only the oldest surviving brick school building we have but was one of the first schools for Black children in Florida. It is of vital importance. Yet while it has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1991, and clearly merits preservation, little has been done. There are no City meetings to try to figure out a plan to fund its preservation that I have read about.

 I would like to challenge the Mayor and our elected officials to take our city in a positive new direction. When I walk through the Plaza, which I do almost daily, I see such potential if we expand our vision: perhaps keep the confederate Memorial, augment knowledge of Andrew Young and why he has a walkway, add more cultural history in addition to the amazing Saint Augustine Foot Soldiers bust, lead tourists to an enhanced Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center. Educate, educate, educate. Everyone should know about our local Rabbis and the Sisters of Saint Joseph who knew that Black Lives Mattered and backed up their beliefs with action, and our brave civil rights foot soldiers. 
 
 While Rev Rawls is a controversial figure to many, he strikes me as someone who may also have ideas that could unite our community. I also would like to challenge City Government to make sure before they bulldoze structures, they give a meaningful look to their own City structure. I suspect meaningful diversity at all levels of City government/leadership is perhaps still more aspirational than concrete. Saint Augustine can explain history better than any other City, and a meaningfully diverse City Government is critical to moving ahead as a City.
Until recent times I never knew our City was rich in Black history. In truth, I never really understood why there was a critical need for Black History month for much of my life. I began reading in depth in recent years and what an awakening I had. So yes, remove monuments of massive slaveowner, General Lee, looking noble perched on Traveller and gazing off into the sunset. There is a point to that. However, maintain our Saint Augustine history, and continue to use the contextualized memorial to teach. 

 Frederick Douglass forcefully wrote how the evils associated with enslaving other humans casts a large web and infects all associated with it, even “good” people. He mentions a woman who started teaching him to read, only to stop when she was convinced this was “dangerous.” Ignorance can only be changed by education. Truly those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it, as the adage goes. Let’s move forward-Until Black Lives Matter Equally and Black History is treasured equally, our entire nation is diminished and suffers. Let’s make the Plaza all that it can be, and should be, together.
Sincerely, 



/s/
 Elizabeth Masters


Here is Col. Elizabeth Masters' column from this morning's St. Augustine Record:


Opinion
LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Memorial is different
Posted Jun 20, 2020 at 2:51 PM
St. Augustine Record

Learning that our mayor has already publicly expressed how he will vote on the issue of the Confederate Memorial, prior to the meeting being held to review it, is quite troubling. Having his views publicized for other commissioners to see certainly violates at a minimum the spirit of the Florida Sunshine Law. The time given for citizens to weigh in has been unduly brief. It is important for citizens to be heard in a meaningful way before decisions are made by elected officials. As a resident of St. Augustine, with local roots tracing back to 1595, I feel very invested in the future of our city, yet with no voice in decisions that affect me. A hasty vote is the wrong way to make important decisions.

Removing statutes glorifying confederate Civil War generals is an easy decision to make. Removing a circa 1879 memorial with protections under the penumbra of the National Park Service’s Federal National Historic Landmark Plan requires a different review. The dialogue that emerged the last time the city considered removal resulted in the addition of carefully crafted contextualized markers that now surround the memorial. These were the result of many hours of dialogue, research, and deliberation. They transformed the educational value of the memorial into a powerful vehicle for accurately evaluating history. The memorial is a wealth of historical facts that debunk any notion that the war was about “states rights” and for a “noble cause”, “not about slavery,” etc.

As many have stated in the past and will likely do so next week at the commission meeting, our memorial is a tribute to local militia members who perished, most buried far from home in unmarked graves. It was erected by their heartbroken families. I concur with this, and have ancestors commemorated, not glorified, by the monument.

Ignorance can only be changed by education. Maintain our St. Augustine history, and continue to use the contextualized memorial to teach.

Elizabeth Masters, St. Augustine