A new study published in the Washington Post by researchers from the University of Oklahoma found that over the past three years, 108 statutes or other monuments honoring the Confederacy have been taken down. Only 31 other monuments to the Confederacy had been removed since 1880.
The authors found that 93 percent of all Confederate monuments remain in place. Some 91 percent of these are in states that were members of the Confederacy. About 43 percent of these monuments are statues, with the remaining being plaques or other memorials. About one of every six Confederate monuments are on public property.
The reason that so many Confederate monuments remain on public grounds is that seven states have passed legislation banning their removal. These states are: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. About 65 percent of the remaining Confederate monuments are in these seven states.
Personally, I think we should worry less about taking down Confederate statues and worry more about boosting test scores and enrollment in STEM degree programs.
The South has not gotten over losing the Civil War.