Friend,

Today, Alabama and Mississippi are observing "Confederate
Memorial Day." Florida and Louisiana will celebrate Confederate
Memorial Day tomorrow. And in Georgia, even though the day has been
rebranded as a "state holiday," Stone Mountain Park is
keeping the Confederacy alive by allowing white nationalists to
commemorate the legacy of slavery on public land.

The true "legacy" of the Confederacy, of course, was to
preserve the institution of slavery and promote white supremacy.
That's what makes celebratory vestiges like Confederate Memorial
Day so appalling. The same can be said of the more than 2,000
Confederate memorials that are still on public display in our country,
including more than 700 monuments.

At the Southern Poverty Law Center, we've spent years working on
our Whose Heritage? research project, which tracks public symbols of
the Confederacy across the United States. Earlier this year, we
released the third edition of our Whose Heritage? report
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(data set included) and map
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. Despite the distressing fact that so many Confederate memorials
remain in public spaces, there is some good news to report: Progress
is being made.

In 2021, 73 Confederate memorials were removed

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from public spaces. Seven of those removals happened in Florida
- including six school renamings - thanks to the efforts
of Jacksonville activists

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.

Meanwhile, in Louisiana last week, St. Landry Parish authorized the
removal

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of a 102-year-old statue from courthouse property instead of
rededicating it. Lee Circle in New Orleans has been renamed Harmony
Circle

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. Eliminating Confederate Memorial Day and Robert E. Lee Day

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as legal holidays is now also on the table.

These are just a few examples of the extraordinary work being done by
communities across the South and beyond, rejecting revisionist history
and removing Confederate memorials in all their inhumane forms.

"While some memorials remain standing despite [activists']
advocacy, many more have been removed, renamed or relocated thanks to
grassroots efforts," said Lecia Brooks, SPLC chief of staff and
culture. "The SPLC understands that this work is not easy, but
know that we support you and will not stop fighting alongside you
until all symbols of the Confederacy are removed from public
space."

To learn more, please check out the latest edition of our Whose
Heritage? report here.
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In solidarity,

Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center

 


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