Cass R. Sunstein, Columnist

We Need to Build New Statues, Not Just Tear Down Old Ones

Follow Lyndon Johnson’s advice and build something instead of just destroying everything.

June 29, 2020 at 4:03 PM UTC

Cass R. Sunstein is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the author of “The Cost-Benefit Revolution” and a co-author of “Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness.”

Shouldn’t Thurgood Marshall be in there somewhere?
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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The year: 1964. The location: the Oval Office.

President Lyndon Johnson, an improbable advocate for civil rights, was meeting with Governor George Wallace, an implacable foe of civil rights. Wallace had requested the meeting. The specific topic was voting rights and the ongoing demonstrations on their behalf. He wanted the president to help stop them.