Study: More than 50 Confederate symbols moved, taken down

In the months since George Floyd died in Minneapolis while in police custody, protests have rippled across the United States, with hundreds of demonstrators rallying against systemic racism and calling for justice.

Among some of the more prominent changes sparked by Floyd’s death is the speedy removal and renaming of landmarks and monuments representing the Confederacy. Such symbols have come down amid controversy in recent years, but the outcry surrounding police brutality, particularly against people of color, have sped up the initiative.

The updated “Whose Heritage? Public Symbols of the Confederacy” report released Tuesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center revealed 38 monuments have been removed in less than three months since Floyd’s death on Memorial Day. Another five have been relocated and 16 schools, parks or other sites renamed.

The tally does not include Mississippi voting to remove the Confederate flag from its state flag nor toppled monuments that have racist connotations but no ties to the Confederacy.

The total also marks nearly as many removals as those reported in the three years following the shooting in Charleston, South Carolina in which nine Black Americans were killed at the historic Emanuel AME Church.

Since then, 125 symbols in total have been removed from public spaces and 103 monuments have been removed or relocated from public spaces since the 2015 attack.

According to SPLC data, 48 monuments in total were removed between June 2015 and early 2019.

“We encourage communities across the country to reflect on the true meaning of these symbols and ask the question: Whose heritage do they truly represent?” SPLC writes in its report.