Statues Must Fall?

How should society address public symbolism?
A Zoom Webinar held on Wednesday, 8th July, 2020
Umar Lee is a prominent Muslim activist, with a focus on US social and religious political issues. He is campaigning for the removal from the city that is named after him of the statue of the French King, Louis IX. King Louis IX was canonised as a saint by the Catholic Church in the 13th century. He also participated in crusades, burnt copies of the Talmud, and expelled Jews from France.
From those who accumulated their wealth through slave trading to those who held views which we now regard as abominable, how should societies address the public symbolism of place names and monuments? How should we commemorate historical figures whose legacies are both positive and negative? Do battles over such symbols provide valuable opportunities to re-assess history, or do they polarize and toxify such debates?
Our panel consists of Umar Lee, Quilliam US's Executive Director, Dr. Muhammad Fraser-Rahim, and Quilliam’s UK Director of Policy, David Toube.