CHANGING TIMES

Washington National Cathedral Removing Confederate Leaders from Stained Glass Windows

Church plans to keep the windows and find a way to display them in historical context.

The Washington National Cathedral is removing two stained-glass windows honoring Confederate leaders Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. After two years of debate, the church's governing board overwhelming voted to remove the 64-year old art Tuesday evening. “This isn’t simply a conversation about the history of the windows, but a very real conversation in the wider culture about how the Confederate flag and the Old South narrative have been lively symbols today for white supremacists. We’d be made of stone ourselves if we weren’t paying attention to that,” said Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, which includes the cathedral. The cathedral reportedly plans to keep the windows and find a way to display them in historical context.