Should Washington’s public statues reflect who we are now?
Public statues across the nation are no longer set in the proverbial stone.
Many communities are rethinking who they choose to recognize in public spaces. While this process began in the heat of the Black Lives Matter protests, with crowds tearing down statues of Confederate leaders, in more recent months the process has slowed to a more deliberative pace.
Perhaps the time has come for Olympians to ask, “Why do we have a prominent statue of a long-gone governor who was an anti-Semite?” And, more importantly, “Who should we honor in our town square?”
The statue of John Rankin Rogers, Washington’s third governor, occupies a central place in Sylvester Park, a state park in downtown Olympia. The Rogers statue was erected in 1904 to recognize his work on the “Barefoot Schoolboy Act.” However, more than a century later, few people know who he was, and many are shocked to learn that he promoted a dangerously bigoted view.
We believe Rogers deserves recognition for his work to create an equitable source of school funding to be derived from statewide property tax revenues. His concern for low-income families was commendable, especially during the economic downturns of the late 1800s.
However, there should be a process to determine if his statue should continue to be located in the center of our city, or if it should be moved inside the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (old Capitol) building, or elsewhere. If the statue is to remain at its current location, should an accurate history of Rogers be installed to the statue legend?
As in the attached excerpts from Rogers’ book, “The Irrepressible Conflict or the American System of Money” (John R. Rogers & Company Publishers, Puyallup, 1892), he was unambiguously clear who he blamed for the woes of the U.S. economy: Jews.
To cite excerpts from this book, Rogers wrote, “Gold is shipped to Europe and the ability of our people to buy and sell or exchange labor and the products of our labor is to be still further reduced by making all money scarcer and harder to get. The excuse offered is “Europe wants our gold.’ And because Europe — or the Jewish Money Lords of the world — can thus interfere in American trade and take from the American laborer his opportunity to labor …”
Rogers also wrote in this same book, ”At the present time, the people of the United States confront a world-wide evil — the private monopoly of money. … (I)ts sleek and prosperous agents stand high in every community, occupying — as of yore — the highest seats in our synagogues. …”
If the statue were relocated, we hope the governor and other community leaders will issue a call for an inclusive and deliberative process to identify a replacement that better represents who we are as a people. Civic leadership, faith communities, tribes and the public should be part of a decision-making process of who and how we should honor those who have made this a better state, region and community.
Public statues matter. Ours can be a representation of our region’s growing diversity. Ours can inspire our next generation of leaders.
Does Rogers meet present-day standards for a statue located in such a prominent place?
We believe there’s an opportunity here for restorative justice, an opportunity to demonstrate a commitment to respect this region’s diversity.
Anna Schlecht of Olympia is a longtime community activist with years of work on multi-racial and social justice initiatives. Russell Lidman is a long-time member of Temple Beth Hatfiloh in Olympia, and a professor emeritus at Seattle University.