Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials

• 1. Origins And Historical Context

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  The Robert E. Lee monument in New Orleans stands as a stark symbol of the era that built it, yet its removal on the 19th of May 2017, marked only one chapter in a much longer story. More than seven hundred monuments and memorials to the Confederate States of America were created on public land, with the vast majority erected during the Jim Crow era from 1877 to 1964. These structures did not appear randomly but clustered around two specific periods of racial conflict: the late nineteenth century when segregation laws were passed and the early twentieth century, coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of the Civil War's end. A second smaller peak occurred between the late 1950s and mid-1960s, aligning with the civil rights movement. Academic commentary from the American Historical Association in August 2017 stated that most monuments were erected without any democratic process. Historians argue these symbols were intended to obscure the terrorism required to overthrow Reconstruction and intimidate African Americans politically. Michael J. McAfee, curator at the West Point Museum, noted that no monuments mention Benedict Arnold, yet Confederate leaders are honored despite being traitors who fought to destroy their nation to defend chattel slavery. University of Chicago historian Jane Dailey wrote that many monuments promoted a white supremacist future rather than celebrating the past. Dell Upton, chair of Art History at UCLA, argued the monuments were installed as affirmations that the American polity was a white polity. The statues were built by women's groups like the United Daughters of the Confederacy after 1894, often using funds raised by mothers, widows, and sisters of deceased soldiers. Robert Seigler documented over 170 Confederate monuments in South Carolina but found only five dedicated to African Americans who served as musicians or teamsters for the Confederacy.

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• 2. Modern Removal Campaigns

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  Just five Confederate memorials were removed in the century-and-a-half following the Civil War until the modern era sparked action. The Charleston church shooting of the 17th of June 2015, triggered a surge in removal efforts with eight memorials taken down in the two years that followed. In New Orleans, a crane had to be brought from an unidentified out-of-state company because no local firm wanted the business. The movement gained further momentum after the Unite the Right rally on August 11-12, 2017, which gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia, to protest the proposed removal of its Robert Edward Lee statue. This event saw deadly violence and public displays of white supremacist symbols. Within days, other cities moved to remove similar memorials. Baltimore removed its Confederate statues on the night of the 15th of August 16, 2017, under orders from Mayor Catherine Pugh to preserve public safety. Lexington, Kentucky, asked its city council on the 16th of August 2017, to approve removing two statues from a courthouse. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, at least 114 Confederate monuments were removed within three years of the Charleston shooting. Texas led this effort by removing 31 monuments, more than any other state. A 2017 Reuters poll found that 54% of American adults believed the monuments should remain while 27% said they should be removed. Public support for removal increased during the George Floyd protests, reaching 52% in favor of taking them down. Some memorials were pulled down by protestors rather than governments. The bust of Robert E. Lee in Fort Myers, Florida, was toppled by unknown parties during the night of the 11th of March 12, 2019. At least three monuments were demolished by protestors in states with laws making legal removal difficult: Silent Sam in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; the Confederate Soldiers Monument in Durham, North Carolina; and the Screven County Confederate Dead Monument in Sylvania, Georgia.

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• 3. Legal And Political Battles

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  Seven states have passed laws that impede or forbid the removal or alteration of public Confederate monuments. Laws in Georgia from the early twentieth century, North Carolina in 2015, and Alabama in 2017 prohibit removal entirely. South Carolina enacted a law in 2000 requiring a two-thirds vote of both houses to remove any monument, while Mississippi followed suit in 2004. Tennessee updated its law in 2013 and again in 2016 to impede such actions. A 1902 Virginia law protecting monuments was repealed on the 1st of July 2020, after Governor Ralph Northam signed legislation allowing local governments to decide their fate. In 2023, Florida Republican Dean Black filed legislation punishing lawmakers who vote to remove historical monuments, though the bill died in committee in March 2024. The Tennessee Heritage Protection Act requires a two-thirds majority of the Tennessee Historical Commission to rename or move any public statue. As of 2022, the commission had considered seven petitions and approved only one: for the Forrest bust in the state capitol. Alabama's Memorial Preservation Act passed in May 2017 faced legal challenges. On the 14th of January 2019, a circuit judge ruled it unconstitutional regarding free speech rights, but the Alabama Supreme Court reversed this decision unanimously on the 27th of November 2019. Governor Roy Cooper asked the North Carolina Legislature to repeal its Cultural History Artifact Management and Patriotism Act in August 2017. He later removed three Confederate monuments from the state Capitol on grounds of public safety despite legislative restrictions. In Birmingham, the city removed the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the 1st of June 2020, violating the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act. The Attorney General sued the city, which could be fined $25,000 but cannot be forced to restore the monument. Mayor Randall Woodfin stated the fine was more affordable than continued unrest.

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• 4. Military Base Renaming

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  In 2000, the U.S. Army renamed Forrest Road at Fort Bliss after receiving complaints about its namesake, Nathan Bedford Forrest. The road became Cassidy Road honoring Lt. Gen. Richard T. Cassidy. In February 2020, Marine Corps Commandant General David H. Berger ordered removal of all Confederate-related paraphernalia from installations. Congress ordered the Defense Department to establish a commission in 2021 to consider renaming bases named for Confederate figures. By December 2022, the Naming Commission recommended changing nine Army bases, two Navy ships, and other facilities. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pledged to follow these recommendations. Fort Benning, Georgia, was renamed Fort Moore in May 2022, honoring Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and his wife Julia Moore. However, on the 3rd of March 2025, the name was restored to honor Corporal Fred G. Benning rather than Henry L. Benning. Fort Bragg became Fort Liberty in 2023 before reverting to honor WWII veteran Roland L. Bragg. Fort Gordon, Georgia, was renamed Fort Eisenhower but later reverted to Sergeant Gary Gordon. Fort A. P. Hill became Fort Walker, then Fort Anderson-Pinn-Hill honoring three Union soldiers. Fort Hood, Texas, changed to Fort Cavazos before returning to Colonel Robert B. Hood. Fort Lee became Fort Gregg-Adams on the 27th of April 2023, then reverted to honor Fitz Lee. Fort Pickett became Fort Barfoot on the 24th of March 2023, before reverting to Vernon W. Pickett. Fort Polk, Louisiana, was renamed Fort Johnson, then reverted to General James H. Polk. Fort Rucker, Alabama, became Fort Novosel on the 10th of April 2023, before reverting to Captain Edward W. Rucker. The last changes were finalized in June 2025.

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• 5. Public Opinion And Polling

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  A 2017 Reuters poll found that responses were sharply split along racial and party lines, with whites and Republicans largely supportive of preservation while Democrats and minorities favored removal. Another 2017 HuffPost/YouGov poll showed 48% favored keeping monuments, 33% supported removal, and 18% were unsure. An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll released in 2017 indicated most Americans, including 44% of African Americans, believed statues should remain in place. Public support for removal increased during the George Floyd protests, reaching 52% in favor and 44% opposed. Jason Spencer, a white Georgia legislator, threatened an African-American colleague in 2017 saying she would not be met with torches but something more definitive if she continued calling for removal. Various groups met the 22nd of March 24, 2018, in New Orleans to strategize Take 'Em Down efforts. A second conference occurred the 22nd of March 24, 2019, in Jacksonville, Florida. An April 2020 study found Confederate monuments were more likely removed in localities with large Black and Democratic populations, NAACP chapters, and state legislatures granting removal power. The Southern Poverty Law Center published an extensive report in 2016 documenting Confederate memorials and maintains an up-to-date list online. These polling numbers reflect deep divisions across the country regarding how history should be remembered and displayed publicly.

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• 6. Vestiges And Relocation Sites

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  Empty pedestals or plinths left after monument removal have met various fates depending on local decisions. In Baltimore, one empty plinth was used in 2017 for Madre Luz, a statue of a pregnant black woman holding a baby with a raised golden fist. Artist Pablo Machioli intended it as a symbol of life before it was vandalized and removed by the city. For the toppled Silent Sam monument at UNC Chapel Hill, scholars proposed leaving the empty pedestal as ruins to commemorate the rise and fall of white supremacist monument-building. Instead, Chancellor Carol Folt directed removal of the plinth and plaques on the 14th of January 2019. Plinths from Richmond, Virginia statues were removed in 2022, though some Monument Avenue intersections still feature spotlights pointed upward toward now-empty space. In Anniston, Alabama, the John Pelham monument erected in 1905 was removed the 27th of September 2020, then rededicated the 26th of March 2022, on public county property. The Confederate Park in Demopolis saw its soldier statue destroyed the 16th of July 2016, when a policeman crashed into it. City government voted 3, 2 in 2017 to move the damaged statue to a museum while installing a new obelisk honoring both Union and Confederate soldiers. Tampa's Memoria In Aeterna monument was moved the 5th of September 2017, to Brandon Family Cemetery after raising $140,000 within 24 hours. The county paid half the $285,000 cost before Save Southern Heritage filed a lawsuit that failed. The Jefferson Davis Highway marker in San Diego was removed the 16th of August 2017, following the Unite the Right rally. West Palm Beach's monument was placed in storage by Mayor Jeri Muoio on the 22nd of August 2017, since the United Daughters of the Confederacy had not claimed it despite notification.

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