Dozens of Confederate symbols have been removed since May. How many in North Carolina?
Fifty-nine Confederate symbols across the United States have been removed, relocated or renamed since the death of George Floyd in May sparked protests calling for an end to racism, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Of those, the group says 40 symbols were taken down by officials or protesters, with no plans to bring them back to their original locations. Another five were relocated, which means they got new homes.
In North Carolina, the SPLC tally includes 10 symbols that were removed and three others that were relocated from places where they had stood for decades. But an analysis from McClatchy News found a higher count, with 19 Confederate statues coming down so far this year.
The numbers highlight the swift calls for change that came in the weeks and months following the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed Black man who died May 25 in the custody of Minneapolis police when an officer kneeled on his neck for about 8 minutes. Four officers were fired and face criminal charges.
They also represent in some cases a newfound willingness from government officials to remove statues and other symbols that honor the Confederacy, a cultural and political flash point.
Since the 2015 mass shooting at a predominantly Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, 124 Confederate symbols have been removed across the country, according to the SPLC. That means about half of those removals came in the last few months.
People have argued Confederate monuments symbolize white supremacy and should be removed. Others contend they recognize Civil War history and Southern heritage.
Many of the statues were erected in the early 1900s, decades after the conflict ended.
So how many Confederate symbols remain?
Almost 1,800 are left in public spaces nationwide, including about 725 monuments, figures show. As of Friday, 153 symbols stood in North Carolina, according to the SPLC.
State law requires approval from the N.C. Historical Commission before some monuments are removed. But there are exceptions, including one for potential dangers.
In Salisbury, a demonstrator threw a rock toward a building near the Fame Confederate statue, and a counter protester was accused of firing a gun into the air, the city said.
And in Wilmington, officials tweeted: “While members of the community have expressed a desire to see these monuments moved for many years, recent protests and controversy over these monuments has grown to a point that the monuments, in their original locations, were a threat to public safety.”
Where have statues been removed?
Leaders in several North Carolina communities have taken down Confederate statues, and protesters have also removed monuments from the State Capitol grounds in Raleigh.
Here’s the list from the Southern Poverty Law Center:
- Anson County (1): A Confederate statue that had stood in front of the Wadesboro courthouse was removed July 8 and expected to go onto private property, The Richmond County Daily Journal reported.
- Asheville and Buncombe County (2): The entities approved the removal of two monuments, the second of which came down July 14, the Citizen-Times reported. The county in June created a task force to weigh the fate of a third statue.
- Charlotte (1): A Confederate reunion marker came down after a June 21 order for it to be removed from the area near Grady Cole Center.
Durham (1): The base was carted away almost three years after protesters tore down the Confederate statue it supported on Aug. 14, 2017.
Fayetteville (1): A statue started to be removed June 27 from the city’s Haymount area, reported ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner. The statue reportedly had private owners and was expected to go into storage.
Louisburg (1): The town on June 30 took its first step to dismantle a Confederate statue that it planned to relocate to a cemetery.
Pitt County (1): A Confederate monument that had stood in front of the county courthouse was taken down June 23 after leaders voted for “immediate removal,” WITN reported.
Salisbury (1): Crews on July 6 removed the Confederate Fame statue after the city and the United Daughters of the Confederacy agreed it would be moved to a cemetery.
State Capitol in Raleigh (3): Protesters on June 19 toppled two bronze soldiers from a Confederate monument. The removals prompted Gov. Roy Cooper to order crews to remove three statues from the Capitol grounds.
Warren County (1): A monument on the Courthouse Square in Warrenton came down in June after outside threats were made on Facebook, The Warren Record reported.
Here’s a list of additional symbols that have come down, according to McClatchy’s ongoing tally:
Clinton (1): A statue that was erected outside the Sampson County courthouse was removed July 12, hours after it was toppled.
Granville County(1): A Confederate statue was removed June 24 after a “credible threat was made to remove it,” WNCN reported.
Rocky Mount (1): The city started to remove the Battle Park Confederate statue on June 29, the same day an apparent noose was found on a nearby tree.
Vance County (1): A Confederate statue was removed from outside a county office building in July and taken to an undisclosed site, The Daily Dispatch and Spectrum News reported.
- Wilmington (2): The city on June 25 announced two statues that had been at the center of nighttime curfews were moved to another location.
But not every community has chosen to get rid of statues.
Commissioners in Jackson County, in Western North Carolina, voted to keep a Confederate monument with modifications, WHNS and other news outlets reported. They decided to remove the words “Heroes of the Confederacy” and cover the statue’s Confederate flag “with a plaque explaining the county’s involvement in the Civil War as well as a list of troops,” according to the TV station.
This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Dozens of Confederate symbols have been removed since May. How many in North Carolina?."
