Where the Confederate Flag Is Being Taken Down Across US
State leaders call for Confederate flag and symbols to be removed.
— -- South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s call for the Confederate flag to be removed from the statehouse grounds there in light of a horrific shooting in Charleston, South Carolina by a white supremacist set off a chain reaction among other Southern leaders asking for symbols of the Confederacy to be removed from official life in their states.
Here’s a list of other places where Confederate symbols and imagery have been removed, or are in question.
1. On the Alabama statehouse grounds
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley called for the Confederate battle flag, which stands at the foot of a confederate memorial on statehouse grounds, to be taken down Wednesday morning. Bentley said the shooting in Charleston last week “partially” led to his decision. “This had the potential to become a major distraction as we go forward. I have taxes to raise, we have work to do. And it was my decision that the flag needed to come down,” he told the Birmingham News.
2. On the Mississippi state flag
Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker called Wednesday morning for the current state flag, which features confederate imagery that includes the “stars and bars,” be put in a museum and replaced. “As the descendant of several brave Americans who fought for the Confederacy, I have not viewed Mississippi’s current state flag as offensive. However, it is clearer and clearer to me that many of my fellow citizens feel differently and that our state flag increasingly portrays a false impression of our state to others,” Wicker said.
3. In the halls of the Kentucky statehouse
Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr called Wednesday for the removal of a statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, from the state Capitol building. That follows a suggestion by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to consider moving the statute to a museum, although McConnell said his suggestion was because Davis’ Kentucky roots were tenuous — he was born there but raised in Mississippi.
4. On the UNLV sports field
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has fielded questions about whether “Hey Reb,” the mascot for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, should be changed because he is rooted in Confederate imagery. The mascot was originally a wolf named Beauregard, who wore a confederate uniform, but he was sacked in the 1970s after a group of black athletes expressed displeasure at being represented by a mascot with a Confederate connection. “Hey Reb” became the new mascot in 1983. Reid said Tuesday that the school’s board of regents should look at the issue, but a spokesperson said later Reid wasn’t endorsing a change.
5. On license plates in Georgia and Virginia
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced Tuesday he would seek a redesign of a state-issued license plate that features an image of the Confederate battle flag designed by the state’s Sons of Confederate Veterans branch. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said he plans to phase out a similar license plate in his state.
Related Stories
ABC News Live