73 Confederate statues removed or renamed last year

Workers remove a state of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Va., in July 2021. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

73 Confederate statues were removed or renamed in 2021, according to a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC.)

Driving the news: The removals and renaming of the statues began in the wake of protests against police violence and racism in 2020, which put a renewed focus on the monuments.

• The murder of George Floyd specifically sparked the removal, relocation, or renaming of at least 200 memorials, per the SPLC's report, which was published on Tuesday.

What they're saying: Removing the memorials is a "first and essential step in combating the white supremacist values of the Confederacy," the SPLC wrote.

• But the nonprofit warned that "the legacy of the Confederacy is far more enduring than any memorial ever could be."
• The report also pointed to systemic racial inequality that "is built into our very institutions."
• "The devastating impact of the pandemic on Black communities in the United States is one of the many ways in which the legacy of slavery and the Confederacy has manifested itself," the SPLC noted.

By the numbers: 723 Confederate monuments remain in the U.S., with one in Puerto Rico.

• The SPLC also found that there are 741 roadways, 201 schools and 22 holidays that honor the Confederacy and "do important cultural work to reinforce white supremacy."

Go Deeper: Dozens of Confederate symbols removed in wake of George Floyd's death

Source: Read Full Article