In today’s Detroit Free Press, a descendant of Gen. Alexander Macomb, a military hero in the War of 1812, calls for the removal of the general’s statue in downtown Detroit based on the family’s tainted history.
I wonder why Kyle Alexander de Beausset, the 4th great-grandson of Macomb, did not also target the general’s statue that stands prominently in the center of downtown Mount Clemens (above), the county seat of Macomb County, which was named after the general. But I suspect de Beausset would also like to see the towering Macomb statue in front of the county courthouse toppled in an unceremonious manner.
In his guest column published on the Free Press editorial pages, de Beausset explains that Gen. Macomb’s father and uncle both grabbed land in Michigan from several Native American tribes during the Revolutionary War. In turn, his uncle William became the largest slaveholder in Michigan prior to statehood, at a time when slavery still persisted in the territory.
Gen. Macomb’s honors over the past two centuries stem from his war hero status during the War of 1812, holding back the British forces in a key battle. But De Beausset, a Grosse Ile resident, writes that the victory was essentially a stalemate that cemented in place the theft of tribal lands.
Surely, the sight of the general’s statue in Detroit, located at Michigan Avenue and Washington Boulevard, cannot compare with the ire that has led to many of the nation’s Confederate monuments being torn down or targeted for removal on a daily basis. Or to the statues of Christopher Columbus that have been eliminated, including one near Detroit City Hall that was located just a few blocks from the Macomb statue.
The Confederates and Columbus stood for slavery and genocide. For DeBeausset, so too did his ancestors.
“Until white people are able to effectively confront our colonialist and racist history head on,” he wrote, “I don’t think any of us will truly be free.”
Let the debate begin.
Whomever is claiming that the American Revolutionary war is racist: they were not there, and they do not know the Truth of the Founding Fathers; nor do they have any clue about what was in the hearts and minds of the Founders of this great Country Founded upon Biblical Principles of Truth and Liberty Found in the Lord God of Israel, and His Inspired and Inerrant and Holy Word! The Holy Bible! God loves all of us sinners, but He hates our sin! We need His Mercy and His Grace! We can never do anything to earn His Grace and mercy! Salvation only comes by His Grace through faith in the holy, perfect, and pure shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cruel Roman Cross, His death, burial and glorious Resurrection on the third day paid our sin-debt in-full for all who believe in Christ Jesus, and receive His Gift of Salvation (Grace) through faith in His blood! Romans 3:10, 23; As it is Written, there is no one righteous, no, not one. For all have sinned, and come short of the Glory of God. Romans 5:8 But God commendeth (showed) His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death; (separation from God in eternal torment and suffering and darkness); but the Gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 For by (God’s) Grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the Gift of God: not of (our) works, lest any man (person) should boast. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, (human beings) that He gave His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, (Jesus Christ) should not perish, (be cast into eternal darkness and torment) but have Everlasting life. Jesus Christ teaches us to love others enough to share the Gospel with them even though they might reject the Message, and therefore, they will hate the messenger who shares the truth of God’s Word!