Download This PaperDamnatio Memoriae and Black Lives Matter
73 Stanford Law Review Online 77 (2020)
12 Pages Posted: 11 Nov 2020
Date Written: September 21, 2020
Abstract
This Essay defends the recent scrutiny of civic symbols, triggered by police brutality and killings, against the Trump Administration’s criticism that it constituted a frivolous exercise in cancel culture. It examines links between recent destruction of monuments and the age-old Roman legal procedure of damnatio memoriae to show that condemnation of memory may serve legitimate purposes, especially in rehabilitating public spaces to express society’s disapproval of past offensive actions.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Zhang, Alex, Damnatio Memoriae and Black Lives Matter (September 21, 2020). 73 Stanford Law Review Online 77 (2020), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3696973