The National Cathedral celebrated the unveiling of their new windows yesterday, dubbed the Now and Forever windows.

It all started after the tragic Charleston church shooting in 2015. And atrocity brought on by a sick young man by the name of Dylann Roof. The questions ensued: Why are there two windows dedicated to Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson? Why is the Confederate flag depicted here?

The stories told in those stained glass windows were “painful, distracting and one-sided”. Why? Because “the Confederate flag and the Old South narrative have been lively symbols today for white supremacist,”said Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.

We’d be made of stone ourselves if we weren’t paying attention to that.”-Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde

Mariann Edgar Budde has long been a liberal. She is the same Episcopal Bishop who thought that orange stoles will stop gun violence and who led her flock in several Capital Pride Parades.

“Take those windows down”, they said. And, up went the scaffolding:

“It’s about time,” they said.

The stained glass windows were featured in the War Memorial Chapel at the National Cathedral. The windows in this chapel depict various wars fought through our history in The United States. What have these windows been replaced with? Depictions of protesting for racial justice and holding up signs that read, “No Foul Play” and “Fairness”.

War is undoubtedly ugly. But there are historical lessons that can be learned from war. There are individuals who fought in these wars who honestly believed in the sacrifices they have made for a greater good. In some cases, there is a perceived right side of history and a perceived wrong side of history. But we have arrived at the juncture where we are just whitewashing history and deleting out the parts we simply do not like. This is one of those deletions.

The Cathedral’s Now and Forever Windows capture the resilience, faith and endurance of African Americans and our nation’s struggle with the original sins of racism and slavery. The new windows and poetry grew out of a decision in 2017 to permanently remove windows that honored Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson. Through this new addition to the Cathedral, we hope to tell a broader, more inclusive story of American history. In this House of Prayer for All People, we want to tell the stories of all people.”-Cathedral.org

Because nothing says “resilience”, “faith” and “endurance” like a protest. Or, in some cases, a riot. It’s more inclusive, you see.

The addition of these windows and the powerful words that accompany them allows us to tell a truer story of America, a story that confronts our past and invites all of us into a more inclusive and hopeful future.”-Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith

No foul. Fairness. Because holding up a sign that basically says life is not fair really illustrates your resilience, your endurance, your character. Crying “foul” at things you don’t like and inequities (perceived and actual ones) really illustrates the strength of your being.

I mean this as no disrespect to the artist but The Now and Forever windows could have represented so much more. There were the Buffalo Soldiers and the Tuskegee Airmen. There were Black soldiers and POWs who fought in Vietnam. There were strong, Black women, the “Black Rosies” who worked in factories and shipyards and along assembly lines in World War II as all of us, collectively as Americans, fought a war to end the unfair and unjust racism of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany. These are the Black Americans who, despite the inequities, demonstrated faith, resilience and endurance.

Justice is not just a theme, but it’s always a pursuit. It’s not individual-oriented per se, but it’s an activity that people in groups participate in to bring about.”-Artist Kerry James Marshall

I would say shooting down a bunch of Nazis is a fair pursuit of justice. Holding up a sign that says life is unfair? Hell, anyone can do that.

The Now and Forever windows do not illustrate the resilience, faith and endurance of Black America. They illustrate one small capsule in a very rich history of Black Americans. Want to talk about what is unfair? Let’s talk about this one small capsule. The true Black Americans who fought in these wars, who did not play the victim card, went completely unrecognized here in the National Cathedral War Chapel.

THAT is an injustice. White members like Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Episcopalian Church enabled and facilitated this. Black Democrats and members of the church also thought this was a good idea. The choice to portray victims and not victors is not lost on some Americans.

Welcome to the deletion of American history, Now, but hopefully not Forever.

Photo Credit: Ron Dicker via Wikimedia Commons/

Civil War Daughters of The Confederacy history justice National Cathedral protests racism wokeism