Nearly 2,100 remain statues, symbols, placards, buildings and public parks dedicated to the Confederacy, although 168 of those symbols were removed in 2020, according to the SPLC. Just one of those symbols was removed before Floyd s death.
Activists have long called for Confederate flags and symbols to be taken down, but the accelerated removal of statues was fueled by widespread protests against systemic racism and police brutality following Floyd s death, with more people linking Confederate monuments with white supremacy, according to Erin L. Thompson, a professor of art crime at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Thompson said the movement experienced a similar spike in June 2015 when a white supremacist shot and killed nine Black parishioners during a Bible study meeting at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, Interest in removing these statues spiked again in 2017 following the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlott
Despite ongoing investigation, Sheriff Villanueva said the crash was “purely an accident” with no evidence Woods was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.