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Police on horse back? people being beaten bloody out here. but you talk about history. alabama is like such a crucial role of some of the most infamous periods of violence, right? but also of civil rights and progress. so this place here plays a significant role because he was famed as a confederate soldier and leader and grand dragon but also they associate that bridge with the fight for black civil rights. >> throughout this whole trip, we have heard people talking about issues you cant lose h...

>> look at this. the nightliest of the nightly race who sing of the day of old. so im assuming a deathless song of southern chiflry. standing up for their way of life and their people, their homes, their farms, their childrens, generations to come. there is no tearing this down. this will loom here. this isnt some little town square. this is the state house of alabama. this is the capital. some memorials are easier to find than others. 20 miles from the capital, a plaque stands on the side of th...

>> it was like an embarrassment. i dont need to see that block to know what the past was. >> it made you mad because i could say that could be my great grandma, my great grandpa. you bring them in on a boat and then you sell them. >> it is totally unfair and unreal that people can actually sit there and say that, oh, well, were just saving history. no. what youre doing is youre spitting in our faces. thats what youre doing. >> just across the river from downtown is the chatum plantation where hu...

Set the stage for huge explosions. >> the battle in charlottesville seemed to be over a single statue. thats a battle thats been repeated in cities across the country. but more than 1,500 monuments to the confederacy remain, honoring those who fought and died to deep black americans like my ancestors in bondage. i decided to travel the south to learn more myself how deep the roots of this fight were buried. i went looking for understanding, for something that would make sense of this moment. alo...

Virtue, all while minimizing the role of slavery. their influence would fuel nostalgia. starting in the 1890s, they put up at least 700 memorials to the confederacy. for decades, descendants of veterans have connected to the past through civil war reenactments. jeff stokes has been reliving this history. he counts dozens of confederate soldiers in his family tree. >> this is a six pounder, modelled 1848. we looked it over, and he said, yeah, i can make those. so thats where we thought, why not? ...

Were protesting their low wages. >> am i crazy for when i read these things im scared because sometimes i feel like this could have been last week. >> oh, it could have been. >> it just weighs on you. >> there are so many more because i know from my familys story what happened and hes not here. >> yeah, of course. there is so much more. >> some say these monuments are about heritage and heroes. but if anything, theyre also reminders of americas unsettled war with itself.

Professionals. >> yeah. >> when my uncle was young, he took a picture on the slave block. for him it was about getting the money because he paid him. and when my grandfather realized that he had stood on that block to have his picture taken, my grandfather whipped him and threw the money away. and he told him what that block was and why he was never to go on that block again. that story has been with us since we were little children. this says not only did we not want you here but we still dont ...

I started this journey starting with light and understanding. to understand what these monuments mean to those who honor them. but it was never about the monuments, the large, looming facades or what lives inside the man who has been shaped by the myths they hold as truths. if anything, it was about a reckoning in a time of american terror. im not sure where we go from here, but the road through history is long and winding with markers along the way. tramaine lee will be back with us after thi...

Block where people were sold. look at the old advertisements. >> yeah. >> seven strong negroes for sale. were not just talking about manual labor. were talking about artisan professionals. >> yeah. >> when my uncle was young, he took a picture on the slave block. for him it was about getting the money because he paid him. and when my grandfather realized that he had stood on that block to have his picture taken, my grandfather whipped him and threw the money away. and he told him what that block...

Person, the only thing on the horizon is serving or death or running away. >> when the army arrived here, for the white folks, it was terror. fled across this river to join the union army. could you imagine that moment? >> in fair view, kentucky, the state is wrestling with telling a fuller story around these memorials, including a larger than life monument dedicated to the only president of the confederacy. >> there it is. look at that. >> my goodness. >> thats a big house. >> that is huge. tha...