You don't change the course of history by turning the faces of portraits to the wall.

The remark criticizes symbolic “erasure” as a substitute for substantive political or moral reckoning. Turning portraits to the wall suggests hiding or disavowing uncomfortable predecessors—an act of gesture politics that may satisfy a momentary impulse but leaves underlying structures, decisions, and consequences untouched. The line implies that history is altered by confronting facts, changing institutions, and taking responsibility, not by suppressing reminders of the past. It also carries a warning about self-deception: removing visible symbols can create the illusion of progress while the real work—reform, education, justice, and honest memory—remains undone.