The process has begun to remove stained glass windows that honor Confederate generals from the National Cathedral.
In a statement, officials at the National Cathedral said, "The [Cathedral] Chapter believes that these windows are not only inconsistent with our current mission to serve as a house of prayer for all people, but also a barrier to our important work on racial justice and racial reconciliation."
According to DCist, the 8-foot-by-4-foot windows depict Stonewall Jackson as a crusader and Robert E. Lee as a "Christian soldier beyond reproach."
When the Cathedral Chapter voted on the decision, a “wide majority” of the two dozen trustees were in favor of removing the windows. The United Daughters of the Confederacy installed the windows in 1953.
In an interview with DCist, National Cathedral spokesperson Kevin Eckstrom said, "There's a belief out there that were just trying to forget the [Civil] War—thats just not true." According to DCist, there are other depictions of the Civil War in the church, and there are no plans to remove them.
This isn’t the first time that Confederate images have been removed from the National Cathedral. In June 2016, NPR reported that the National Cathedral planned to remove two images of the Confederate battle flag from the windows. The flags were replaced with plain glass and paid for by private donors.
• National Cathedral Is Taking Down Its Confederate Stained Glass Windows [DCist]
• National Cathedral considers removing Civil War stained glass windows [Curbed DC]