More than 2,000 Confederate symbols still standing across the U.S., report says
More than 2,000 Confederate symbols are still standing in public spaces across the U.S., according to a report released Thursday by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Of those symbols, 685 are Confederate monuments, the nonprofit legal advocacy group based in Montgomery, Alabama, said. The remaining symbols are a mixture of government buildings, plaques, markers, schools, parks, counties, cities, military property, and streets and highways named after anyone associated with the Confederacy, the report said.
Americans remain divided on how to preserve the Confederate legacy. More than 50% of Americans support preserving the history of the Confederacy, a 2024 survey from the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute poll found, views virtually unchanged from a survey conducted two years prior.
According to the poll, 81% of Republicans support preserving Confederate monuments, compared to 30% of Democrats.
58% of White Americans, 55% of multiracial Americans and 55% of Hispanic Americans support preserving them, compared to just 25% of Black Americans.
Meanwhile, less than 50% of Gen Zers support efforts to preserve the legacy and history of the Confederacy.
The numbers show a highly polarized divide along lines of race and party.
The fourth edition of the Southern Poverty Law Center's report detailed the challenges that researchers called the "politics of Civil War memory," citing recent name changes of two military bases as a setback that illustrates the "challenges of continuing the work."
"As the Trump administration escalates its efforts to rewrite our history, we cannot let up in telling the whole, true story of our nation," Margaret Huang, president and CEO of SPLC, said in a statement.
Fort Bragg and Fort Benning were two of nine bases for which the Naming Commission — a commission mandated by Congress to rename bases honoring Confederates — suggested new names.
In February 2025, as one of his first acts, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth changed Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg, reversing a decision made by a congressionally mandated commission to rename bases that honor Confederate generals.
Instead of renaming the base after Gen. Braxton Bragg, who fought for the Confederacy, because bipartisan legislation prevented Hegseth from choosing a Confederate name, he chose to honor Pvc. Roland L. Bragg, who was awarded a Silver Star for actions during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.
Hegeseth posted on social media, "Bragg is back!" after signing the memorandum.
Weeks later, Hegeseth announced Fort Moore, formerly named Fort Benning for a Confederate general, will again be named Fort Benning. This time around, however, the fort will now honor a different Benning — Cpl. Fred G. Benning, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his extraordinary heroism in action during World War I, when he served in the U.S. Army in France in 1918.
The base was originally named after Lt. Gen. Henry Benning, a Confederate general and Southern secessionist who opposed freeing slaves.
The report also noted what it described as "setbacks" in the renaming of two public schools in Shenandoah County, Virginia, to Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby-Lee Elementary School, honoring Confederate generals Stonewall Jackson, Turner Ashby and Robert E. Lee. A local teacher resigned over the restoration of the names, and some families are considering leaving as well.
"This might not be the community for us any longer," one parent told Southern Poverty Law Center researchers.
Also detailed were what researchers called victories to remove Confederate monuments — citing Arlington National Cemetery's removal in December 2023 of its Confederate memorial, overcoming a lawsuit that attempted to block it.
"We should not honor those who fought to continue slavery and tear apart our democracy," Huang said.