At least 160 Confederate symbols were removed from public spaces across the United States in 2020, according to the the Southern Poverty Law Center. Even Virginia, the former capital of the Confederacy, has removed a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee from the Richmond Statehouse and is trying to take down others seen as offensive by an increasing numbers of Americans, including those whose ancestors were enslaved.
Texas has largely declined to participate in this nationwide reckoning with the symbols of the Old South. Instead, local officials are doubling down on their Confederate monuments.
Republican State Sen. Brandon Creighton, who represents the city of Conroe, near Houston, says he will file a bill this legislative session to protect historical monuments from efforts to remove them.
SC lawmakers announce legislation to protect monuments statewide Rep. Rose calls for removal of Tillman statue from capitol complex (Source: Joe Gorchow) By Lauren Adams | March 9, 2021 at 5:10 PM EST - Updated March 10 at 10:06 AM
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - South Carolina legislators announced a three-part legislative plan to protect historical monuments throughout the state.
Itâs a combo bill lawmakers are calling âThe Story of Americaâ which includes protecting monuments, restoring history in classrooms, and preventing historical plaques from becoming editorialized.
Representative Bill Taylor from Aiken said House Bill 3249 would create severe penalties for local governments that remove historical monuments. He proposed to withhold funds from local governments if they take down monuments or change monuments, and thatâs not all.
Sam Harmon/Kaufman Herald
Ending the march, Henderson flipped the camera back to his face and thanked his Facebook audience. He suggested the town have a broader conversation about the statue, whether at church gatherings or in town hall meetings. “I’m not shutting up,” he said. “I’m not backing down. I’m not going to quit.”
Larger, more progressive cities like Dallas and Denton had already decided to scrap some of their Confederate statues. But in Kaufman and similarly conservative small towns across North Texas, that goal was part of a much steeper uphill battle. In recent years, the far right has turned Confederate monuments into a rallying cry: after Dylann Roof murdered nine Black worshipers in a church in June 2015; when white nationalists and neo-Nazis held a deadly rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017; and as anti-statue protesters demonstrated last summer following Floyd’s killing.
1 Mar 2021
A bill to rename “Jefferson Davis Highway” on U.S. Route 1 to “Emancipation Highway” passed the Virginia Senate Thursday in a 30-9 vote.
The bill, which Del. Josh Cole (D-Fredericksburg) introduced, was approved by the Virginia House of Delegates by a 70-28 vote this month.
The legislation will be headed to Gov. Ralph Northam’s (D) desk for his signature, after which it will become law effective January 1, 2022.
But even after the Senate vote, it remains unclear if the affected localities of Fredericksburg will rename U.S. 1 within their borders.
The bill only applies to areas in the state where U.S. 1 is still named after former Confederate President Jefferson Davis.