SYMBOLS OF HATE
With the rise of Donald Trump (all the way to the White House) and white supremacists, more and more Americans are pushing back. The last few years have seen a strong resistance to hate groups whose beliefs and actions can undoubtedly shatter the fragile foundation of race relations in the United States.
One way people are pushing back is to protest Confederate monuments. In 2015, there were over 700 Confederate monuments around the country. Then, in Charleston, South Carolina, 21-year-old white supremacist and terrorist, Dylann Roof murdered nine black churchgoers. Photos of him with the Confederate flag caused Americans to revisit the country's racist past and what the Confederacy flag really symbolizes - racial superiority.
In the wake of Roof's murderous act, a movement began to remove symbols of white supremacy from public areas in the South. Many of these monuments were erected during the Jim Crow era.
Here's a list of monuments that have been removed so far.
New York has its own collection of controversial monuments -- from Christopher Columbus to General William Jenkins Worth to Bernard Baruch. To get the public involved in the decision to remove monuments and markers, the city launched an online survey, which enables New Yorkers to offer their feedback on specific monuments.
I've already filled it out. Have you?
