Never Give Up, Never Surrender

Tearing down a monument is not like burning a book. We're not talking about ground breaking works of sculpture here, or erasing the recording of history or art. Monuments are spaces for commemoration and celebration where land is limited. And I believe black people don't need plaques to remind them of this history recorded in their families' struggles, and should be able to go to spaces of commemoration without having to look at Confederate war criminals, so no way should the NAACP or Black Lives Matter have to pay for anything involved in this. Though as an interim step while a court case for tearing it down is pending, a mandatory plaque as you describe is a good idea, paid for by the state in which it resides.