The chasm unfortunately is not closed, as much as we would like it to be. We’re referring to the sentence on the plaque on the Civil War statue by Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs. That sentence — “The chasm is closed” — rings hollow today. The rest of the plaque reads: “In memory of the restored union this tablet is dedicated by Union veterans of the Civil War and patriotic citizens of Martha’s Vineyard in honor of the Confederate soldiers.” A monument to the bravery of the Union Army is one thing; a tribute to honor a cause that promoted and defended slavery is quite another. We stand in agreement with the Martha’s Vineyard chapter of the NAACP that these plaques should be removed and donated as historical items to the Martha’s Vineyard Museum.

We stand in support of chapter president Erik Blake who has suggested the plaque belongs in the Martha’s Vineyard Museum.

The NAACP is not asking for removal of the statue. The issue at hand is the wording, the message that graces the monument erected by former Confederate soldier and Vineyard newspaper publisher Charles Strahan in 1891.

We are the Martha’s Vineyard Social Justice Leadership Foundation. Our mission is to empower Island groups and individuals to transform racial and social injustices through grant making, education, and advocacy. Our vision statement is simple: A fair and just island for all. Our organization has been responsible for holding valuable symposiums on immigrant rights, in conjunction with the American Civil Liberties Union. We can be found online at socialjusticemv.org.

“Monuments to the ‘lost cause’ will prove monuments of folly . . . in the memories of a wicked rebellion which they must necessarily perpetuate . . . It is a needless record of stupidity and wrong.” — Frederick Douglas, 1870.

Laurie Perry

Edgartown

The writer is president of the Martha’s Vineyard Social Justice Leadership Foundation