I'm from a small town, Mechanicsville, that few have heard of if they aren't from the area. Because I realize that not many know where exactly this place is, I usually say I'm from Richmond.

Since it's the capitol, many know much more about the place itself. I take pride in the diversity that the city preaches. However, since the monuments have become more of an issue than before, on Saturday, September 16, the climate in Richmond has heated up to a boil, after a similar thing happened in Charlottesville, Va.

Richmond was the capitol of the confederacy, and so it does make sense from a historical standpoint why we have so many monuments. However, it's a little unsettling, given what these people stood for. And the issue isn't necessarily the monuments themselves; it's the people that hide their racism and hate with "heritage and history".

This is also true for the confederate flag, which is also to be found all over Richmond, most commonly in the form of shirts.

I try to keep my mouth shut about the issue. My family has their opinions that greatly differ from mine in almost every realm of politics. I am very liberal, and the same cannot be said for my relatives. The issue regarding the confederate flag is big not only in my family or neighborhood, but also in my school district.

Why?

Because I shamefully graduated from the home of the confederates. As a progressive person, graduating from Lee-Davis High School was shameful, admittedly. Not because it's called Lee-Davis and sits on Lee-Davis Road. Not because of the teachers, who gave it their all. Because of our mascot.

I was often told by others on social media that L-DHS carries the mascot name because of the history of Mechanicsville. While it is true that there are many civil war battlegrounds and white signs telling stories of battles past, the same can be said for the areas around the other schools in Hanover County: Atlee High has the raiders, Hanover High has the hawks, and Patrick Henry has the patriots.

My high school is the only one that has to carry controversy. Lee-Davis was founded in 1958, during the height of Virginia's heavy resistance against court-ordered integration. The fact that they chose their mascot to be the confederates is a little alarming when you think of it that way, isn't it? Especially when coupled with the fact that one of the key things oppressors do is antagonize the victim.

I mention this in such great detail because the responses from those who support that flag and the confederacy to this day will be the same. I was told that "it's just a flag!" And people who want the statues to stay say: "it's just a statue!" And to that, I have a simple point: If it's just a statue, and it's upsetting so many people, then why can't you just put it in a museum where those who want to see it can go see it, and those who don't want to see it don't have to?

Tourism would still thrive in Richmond, and if everyone really is so concerned about the Museum of the Confederacy losing funding, then put the statues closer to it or in it, if possible. And if it continues to fail, and those who claim it to be history and heritage rather than commemoration, then it really is "just a statue" to those people, and they only care to have it out for power. Racists can hide behind the culture ingrained in daily life.

My high school climate did the very same thing for a select few I walked across the same stage with on graduation day.

I cannot reiterate enough how important the removal of these statues are. Remove and replace. Put it in a museum. Keep it alive for history if that's what it really is. And in regards to the flag, if people wanted it just in their homes, then they wouldn't be marching on the streets.

They wouldn't be parading it around. They need it out for validation, for oppression, to deepen racial tensions and stir the pot. They don't care about it being in their homes, not the ones marching about. They care about it being on the streets. About making the word supreme in the dictionary have a picture of the white race under it.

To those who don't see a problem with the flag and want it outside of just their homes, I have one thing to say. It isn't the fibers, woven into fabric, that have roots of hatred, bigotry, and racism. It is the groups that parade it around that taint the flag, that stain it with the sweat, blood, and tears of white supremacy, of the KKK, of the alt-right.

There is no need in hurting people. If it's just a flag, if it's just a statue, then let it be. Keep your memorabilia in your homes. Keep the history in the museums, that's what they're for.

We are not erasing history. We are the progressive movement. We will not erase the texts from your history books. We will not forget the hatred rooted into confederate culture, but that doesn't mean that after the statues come down that we will be on the prowl for what's next to be "erased".

We will keep these museums. We will keep this history in our minds to ensure it is not repeated. We are not trying to erase history. As an unidentified counter-protester in Richmond on Saturday said it best: "We are trying to make room to rewrite a brighter future."