Removing Trend

From USA Today:

"Post-Charlottesville, Confederate monuments begin to fall across the U.S"

The city of Charlottesville draped two Confederate monuments in black tarp Wednesday afternoon as a symbol of the city’s mourning for a woman who was killed while protesting a white nationalist rally. The work Wednesday began in Emancipation Park, where workers using ropes and poles draped a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee in the tarp. Some in the crowd cheered as others took photos and video. “It’s great. It’s a good start,” said Jamie Dyer from nearby Justice Park, where workers later covered a statue of Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The violence that erupted on Aug. 12 in Charlottesville brought renewed attention to Confederate symbols. Charlottesville, like many other cities, has struggled over what to do with its Confederate-era statues, which some view as markers of history. Others see them as symbols of hate and reminders of pain.

Here’s a look at some of the monuments that have been taken down since the violence in Charlottesville:

 • Durham, N.C. — On Aug. 14, protesters toppled a Confederate statue during a rally outside the Durham County Courthouse. On Aug. 19, a statue of Robert E. Lee was removed from the entrance of Duke University Chapel. University president Vincent Price authorized the removal, saying the removal represented an “opportunity for us to learn and heal.” 

• Gainesville, Fla. — A monument to Confederate soldiers nicknamed “Old Joe” in downtown Gainesville was taken down on Aug. 14. Its removal was hotly contested for a year. In the end, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, who put it up 113 years ago, agreed to remove and take the statue after other groups declined it. 

• St. Petersburg, Fla. — On Aug. 15, the city removed the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Highway marker was from the downtown waterfront. 

• San Diego — Just days after the deadly protests in Charlottesville, a plaque honoring Jefferson Davis was removed by the city from Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego. 

• Los Angeles — On Aug. 16, a six-foot monument to Confederate soldiers was removed from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. A spokesperson for the the United Daughters of the Confederacy, which owns the monument, told the Los Angeles Times it was taken down due to issues with vandalism. 

• Baltimore — On Aug. 16, four Confederate monuments were taken down after Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh cited safety concerns. “They needed to come down,” Pugh said in an interview with the Baltimore Sun.  

• Brooklyn, N.Y. — A 105-year-old plaque marking a tree planted by Robert E. Lee in Brooklyn during the 1840s was removed on Aug. 16, along with a second plaque installed in 1935, according to the New York Daily News. 

• New York — Busts of Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson were removed overnight on Aug. 17 from the Hall of Fame for Great Americans at Bronx Community College. A few days before, Bronx Borough president Ruben Diaz Jr. had called for their removal and said their inclusion at the Hall of Fame was “especially galling: there is nothing great about two men who committed treason against the United States to fight to keep the institution of slavery in tact.” 

• Franklin, Ohio — A monument dedicated to Robert E. Lee was removed overnight on Aug. 17 by the city of Franklin. Located on the Dixie highway, the stone monument was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy 90 years ago. 

• Madison, Wis. — A plaque lauding Confederate soldiers buried at a cemetery was removed on Aug. 17, and Madison Mayor Paul Soglin said a second memorial would be coming down as well. 

• Worthington, Ohio — On Aug. 18, a historic marker outside the home of Roswell Ripley, a Confederate general who was born and raised in the city, was taken down following a recommendation by city officials anticipating protests, The Columbia Dispatch reported. 

• Annapolis, Md.— On Aug. 18, a statue of Roger B. Taney, the U.S. Supreme Court justice who wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision upholding slavery and denying citizenship to African Americans, was lifted away by crane from the grounds of the Maryland State House. The statue had stood in front of the statehouse since 1872. 

• Daytona Beach, Fla. — Three plaques honoring Confederate soldiers were removed from a park in downtown Daytona Beach on Aug. 18. A city spokesperson said they would be cleaned and donated to a local historical society.  

• Helena, Mont. — Montana's capital removed a Confederate monument on Aug. 18  after Native American lawmakers in Montana sent a letter to the city requesting its removal, saying it stood for segregation, secession and slavery. A fountain donated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy more than 100 years ago, it was supposedly the only Confederate monument in the upper Rockies. 

• Austin — On Aug. 21, statues of Confederate-era figures Robert E. Lee, Albert Sidney Johnston, John Reagan and James Stephen Hogg were removed from the main campus grounds of the University of Texas at Austin.  

^ I'm glad to see local and state officials are finally doing something about these monuments. It is surprising to see that there are so many in places that were never part of the Confederacy (like the East, the Mid-West and the West.)  I hope this trend (removing these monuments) continues until they are all gone. ^

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/08/23/post-charlottesville-confederate-monuments-begin-fall-across-united-states/595393001/