When You're Ready to See The Rest of The Story
Two Franklin Tennessee Civil War Monuments & the Evangelical Industrial Complex
There’s a Nashville suburb a few miles north of my home with a historic downtown square featuring a statue of a Confederate soldier in the very center. Long-time residents view it with nostalgia. After a while, they pay it no attention. But the tourists and new residents to Franklin, TN stop and take a photo and maybe even read the inscription on the sign that introduces them to “Chip”- a name given to the statue because of a chip that’s missing from his hat. I heard the tale of Chip1 when we moved to Franklin over a decade ago.
These days, when I see a person in a cowboy hat posing for a photo that captures the perfect angle with enough of Chip, the Hallmark-like storefronts, and their brand-new boots, I make some assumptions: They know as little as I once did about what that statue represents, and their eyes are peeled for a celebrity sighting hoping to see a Christian celebrity they have on a pedastal similar to the one on which Chip stands. They are charmed by the image of this perfect town and the people they think they know who live here.
I know because that was me.
There was a time I walked that square and acted as a tour guide to newcomers. I felt all the awe of this place and none of the weight.
I had a chance to see it earlier. On the way to a girls’ night out a month after moving to Tennessee, I sat in the passenger seat of my new friend Kellie’s van. Kellie was a no-nonsense, long-time resident of the area. She rarely wore cowboy boots, and when she did, it was for a practical reason and not as an accessory. On this particular evening, I pointed to a huge house on a bluff overlooking the town. Kellie responded with, “You know, you’ll never be invited to that house. Things aren’t as perfect as everyone says.”
I politely nodded while I internally batted away her observation like it was a pesky fly.
I wasn’t letting anything through that contradicted what I desperately wanted to be true. I needed this place to be a refuge that the home we left couldn’t be. My expectations were high, but I figured if I aimed for the moon, we’d at least reach the stars.2
But that shiny idealism faded, and I was kicking myself 7 years later, embarrassed I hadn’t seen it coming. This wasn’t a tragic accident that came out of nowhere. It was a slow-moving crash with engine lights flashing and tires falling off for miles. They say history doesn’t repeat itself, and instead rhymes. I’d always believed that to be true in a big, historical sense, but hadn’t considered that I would need to be aware of this tendency personally. We played a different variation on a theme we swore we wouldn’t perform again.
One of the truest things I know is that when someone doesn’t want to see something, you can’t force them to open their eyes. They have to be willing to open them.
I couldn’t see what was broken until I was willing to entertain the possibility that there was a bigger story.
The town square in Franklin, TN, no longer features only a statue of a Confederate Soldier. In 2019, another statue was placed right outside the courthouse and within view of Chip.
This statue was placed in honor of the U.S. Colored Soldiers who fought in the Civil War and is a result of work done by a group of local pastors and leaders who wanted to tell a “fuller story.”3 Here’s a little background from the visitfranklin.com site:
“Franklin’s history is complex, including much more than just the Civil War battle here. The whole story of Franklin’s history is that some events and occurrences happened in its public square and its downtown area, particularly denigrating to the black citizens of the time, which would be considered wholly unacceptable in modern society. While not a positive history or source of pride for Franklin, these events cannot be overlooked as if they never happened.
In the wake of tragic events at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, Franklin area pastors and community leaders of all races gathered for a prayer vigil around Franklin’s public square. From that gathering, discussions began about how all aspects of Franklin’s history were not adequately acknowledged in the downtown square. There was a monument to Confederate soldiers who died in the Battle of Franklin, but nothing noted the other challenges faced by black slaves through the years in that same public square.”
The Fuller Story Initiative was formed, and visitors to the square can now see two prominent statues that together present a fuller view of historic downtown Franklin.
None of their work could have happened without a willingness to acknowledge portions of the history of a beloved town that make us uncomfortable.
And maybe it worked because they didn’t remove Chip.
They exist together.
9 years later, that big house on the hill was sold4. Kellie was right. I never received an invitation to that house. I mean, of course I didn’t. And even if all the days in between were lovely, it would have been unusual to get that kind of invitation.
But all the days in the interim weren’t lovely, and today I’d be more terrified to receive an invitation than flattered.
The celebrity sightings and the mansions aren’t the siren song they once were. But I have so much empathy for the ones who see this world and have nothing but awe and warm feelings. It makes sense that they feel that way.
They aren’t ready for the whole story of the Evangelical Industrial Complex and the debris field it has left. The interconnected platforms, paychecks, and relationships have created a system that thrives on having each other’s “six” and closing ranks against those who ask questions about the naked emperor.
I know why they won’t be able to hear some of the hard things about people, places, and communities that have brought joy, comfort, and security.
What if we were willing follow the lead of the committee that was deciding what to do about the statue(s) in the Franklin, TN, town square? Would we be willing to take a tentative step into the light and say: “While not a positive history or source of pride” . . .”these events cannot be overlooked as if they never happened.”
The fuller story is there when you’re ready to see it.
When you’re ready to hear what’s been there all along.
Compromise is calling
What if I stumble
What if I fall?
What if I lose my step
And I make fools of us all?5
I don’t want to remove your statue, but I’m desperate for a critical mass of people who are willing to face what’s broken, determined to do their part in making it better.
Confederate Monument (Franklin, Tennessee) - Wikipedia
Thank you, Norman Vincent Peale. Quote by Norman Vincent Peale: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll la...”
The Fuller Story | City of Franklin, TN
Dave Ramsey Takes a Deep Discount, Sells Franklin, TN, Home
What If I Stumble? - Wikipedia