A few thoughts on remembering by Paul A. Shackel in Memory in Black and White:

Public memory is more a reflection of present political and social relations than a true reconstruction of the past.

Therefore, public memory does not rely solely on professional historical scholarship, but it takes into account the various individuals and institutions that affect and influence the versions of histories that have become part of the collective memory.

Public memory can be viewed as tactical power that controls social settings. Competing groups battle ceaselessly to create and control the collective national memory of revered sacred sites and objects.

The tensions between and within groups who struggle for control over the collective public memory is ongoing since the political stakes are high.

The meaning of sacred sites on the American landscape is continually being negotiated and reconstructed.