2020 Sees Record Removal of Confederate Symbols

The year 2020 saw an unprecedented number of removals of confederate monuments and symbols in the U.S., according to a preliminary release by NGO Southern Poverty Law Center. The organization, which started its research in 2015, has counted 168 removals in 2020, many more than in previous years. The process is often met with controversy: Proponents see the dismantling of these symbols as an adjustment of who deserves a public honor, while opponents see in it a dangerous reversal of history. For many removed statues, pedestals remained in place so passer-bys can learn about the removals.

Statues and other monuments commemorating the Confederacy were the most common type of Confederate symbol removed in 2020, with almost 100 getting dismantled. But changes also included the highly publicized new Mississippi state flag as well as the renaming of many schools, a lake and a California mountain peak, which started out as Jeff Davis peak and now carried the Washoe name Da-ek Dow Go-et. Several universities, among them the University of Alabama, James Madison University, UC Berkeley and Virginia Commonwealth University, were quite active in renaming buildings and removing other Confederate symbols in 2020. Virtually all of last year's removals started after May 25, the day George Floyd died.

Yet, monuments remain the most common public symbol of the Confederacy in the U.S. today - the SPLC still counted almost 700 at the end of 2020. They are closely followed by highways and roads named after Confederate generals and the like. In this second, large group far fewer changes occurred in 2020. Only four roads changed their name, leaving 640.

Other Confederate symbols counted by the SPLC included the names of cities and counties as well as holidays observed in some states, a scholarship, two colleges, ten military bases and several commemorative license plates. April 26, 2021, marks Confederate Memorial Day, a state holiday, in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi.

Despite removing 71 Confederate symbols in 2020, Virginia remained the state which had most of them, followed by Texas, Georgia and South Carolina. A total of 29 states and Washington D.C. were listed as having Confederate statues or symbols.