Challenging Confederate Monuments

Challenging Confederate monuments is not a recent event, however, only with the recent election has it garnered strong media and public attention. These monuments, many of which were built long after the Confederacy, served to remind blacks of the racial hierarchy. Their position in town squares and in public life are being contested primarily by two groups. The first that sees the statues as examples of a racist regime that denied African Americans their basic rights and the other group that sees them as embodying symbols of bravery and respect to those who fought for their land. The second group contains some who would see the United States as a white man's country and believes in white supremacy. A third group who believes in the statues as historic artifacts that should be preserved, however, this group frequently bleeds into both previous groups as well. The question facing the nation after the clash between sides at Charlottesville on August 11th, 2017.