Charleston is a city built in layers. Nearly every downtown block offers a reminder of how we got here – with a plaque on a brick wall, a marker in a churchyard, a monument at a corner where history turned.
That habit of remembrance is not something to be embarrassed about. It is part of our identity. It is also why, when we choose to add something to a shared civic space, we owe one another a public process that is visible, predictable, and fair.
That is what went missing when the Robert E. Lee Memorial Highway marker appeared in Marion Square with little to no public notice. I am not here to litigate the merits of Lee, and I understand that Charlestonians hold conflicting views about Confederate symbols. In my view, there’s no question that Lee was a traitor who aligned himself with and advanced a cause responsible for profound moral crimes.
My point is simpler. When the normal process is bypassed, people assume the fix was in, and the result is anger and distrust that could have been avoided. In a city this historically literate, process is substance…