NC among leading states for Confederate symbols removed since George Floyd’s death
North Carolina is among the states with the most Confederate symbols taken down since the death of George Floyd sparked renewed pushes for their removal, data show.
Nationwide, 102 symbols to the Confederacy have been moved away from public spaces or renamed since Floyd’s death in May, according to figures released Wednesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
With the removal of 40 Confederate symbols, Virginia leads the nation as the state with the most taken down. North Carolina ranks second, with 19 symbols gone in recent months, according to the SPLC.
Through an analysis, McClatchy News found a slightly higher count: 20 symbols coming down throughout North Carolina.
The tallies include a Confederate statue that had stood for 115 years in Lexington, roughly 20 miles southwest of High Point, WGHP reported. It was removed overnight Thursday.
Renewed calls for change emerged after Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25. Floyd, a Black man, was unarmed when a white officer kneeled on his neck for about 8 minutes. That officer and three others at the scene were fired and charged.
Floyd died almost five years after a mass shooting at a predominately Black church in Charleston, South Carolina. The accused shooter was photographed with a Confederate battle flag, “fueling a debate about symbols representing the Southern states that seceded from the Union in the 1860s,” McClatchy News reported.
Many Confederate monuments were erected decades after the Civil War. While some say the statues recognize history and Southern heritage, others contend they symbolize white supremacy and should come down.
Since the 2015 Charleston shooting, 171 symbols of the Confederacy have come down nationwide, according to the SPLC. That means more than half of the removals came in recent months.
Still, the United States has almost 1,800 statues, buildings and other entities that bear names linked to the Confederacy, the SPLC says. And 152 of those are in North Carolina, according to data shared Friday with McClatchy News.
In North Carolina, N.C. Historical Commission approval is required before removing state-owned statues. But the law has exceptions for potential dangers.
This summer, statues in Wilmington got new homes after officials determined they threatened public safety, McClatchy News reported.
