Benjamin Tillman Statue — South Carolina
Benjamin Tillman was a governor and senator from South Carolina who was a noted white supremacist who often expressed his ill will toward Blacks. He was the leader of the “Red Shirts,” a group of racists tied to the Democratic Party. They were blatant racists who executed Blacks and bragged about it, chronicles charlestoncitypaper.com. Tillman’s statue sits in front of the federal building in Columbia, South Carolina’s capital.
The Voortrekker Monument — South Africa
This amphitheater structure towering over the city of Pretoria is revered by many in South Africa, who gather yearly on Dec. 16 for the Day of the Covenant. On that day in 1838, the Voortrekker settlers, who were Dutch, took over the beautiful South African land in a bloody battle with the Zulus, who resided there. The Voortrekkers claimed God had empowered them to defeat the natives at the Battle of Blood River, known now as KwaZulu-Natal. This monument represents the death of thousands and the bloody takeover of South Africans’ land, an ugly reminder to Black South Africans of their loss of heritage, family and status.
