Architecture of Racial Segregation and Landscapes of Collective Memory: Transformation of the South Carolina State House Grounds

Memorial landscapesLandscapes of collective memory are designed and built in a manner so that they presumably represent a nation’s shared collective memoryShared collective memory that all citizens can relate to. Yet in different historical periods such sites and monuments reflect certain political and ideological agendas in clear violation of citizens’ democratic rights to have a fair and equal representation. In the United StatesUnited States, one such prominent example is the South Carolina State House grounds in ColumbiaColumbia, South Carolina, the state Capital. As an urban memorial landscape, this historic site glorifies a morally questionable past based on the inhumane treatment and exploitation of enslaved Americans of African origin; represents relics of a war between the Confederate and Union armies that ended in the former’s defeat; calls out traditional virtues of courage and “Southern” honor in support of slavery; and in spite of a recently-included monument to honor African Americans and their contributions to the state and the nation, its spatial design represents a continued practice in architecture of racial segregationArchitecture of racial segregation, exclusion, and racial domination. In the first section, the chapter provides a theoretical context for analyzing memorial landscapesMemorial landscapes as sites of “collective memory” formulated by urban geographers and critical sociologists. Next, the texts, symbolism, and strategic location of three prominent monuments dedicated to the southern cause on the State House grounds in downtown Columbia are critically examined: The Monument to the Confederate Fallen Soldiers, the Monument to Confederate Women, and the Confederate Battle Flag’s display on the grounds. Finally, the chapter traces social, cultural, and political trajectories of a negotiation process that led to the approval of theAfrican American History Monument (AAHM), African American History Monument (AAHM)AAHM by state legislature and its subsequent design and construction. A highly controversial and politically-charged process, earmarking and approving an inconspicuous parcel of land on the State House grounds and the monument’s design approval by state legislators further provides a sociological case to analyze architecture of racial segregation on one hand, and the link between race-based politics and miss-administration of spatial justice on the other.