A Majority of Black Americans Think Confederate Statues Should Not Be Removed

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JEFF CHARLES

You may not believe this, but it’s true.

The majority of black Americans are opposed to removing Confederate statues. Stop laughing; it’s true – according to a recent Marist poll conducted by NPR and PBS News Hour. The results of the survey showed that 44% of blacks believe that the monuments should remain. 40% believe the statues should come down while 11% say they are unsure. In a completely unrelated event, the Southern Poverty Law Center has just labeled 44% of black Americans as a “hate group.”

The poll was conducted on Monday and Tuesday, just days after the incident in Charlottesville, VA where a 32-year old woman was killed at a white supremacist rally. The event was held to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

The results of the poll would undoubtedly be surprising to most Americans – unfortunately, the establishment media does not seem interesting in discussing it. What a surprise! The poll also showed that a majority of Americans from other ethnic backgrounds feel the statues should stay up. 65% of Latin Americans said they believe the statues should remain. 65% of white Americans also said the monuments should stay. The study also showed that most people across political lines wanted the statues not to be removed.

As can be expected, a majority of Republicans support keeping the monuments up. However, the same also applies to Independents and “soft” Democrats. The only group that wanted to see the monuments removed were those who identified as “strong” Democrats. And yet, the left is still seeing some success in getting rid of the memorials.

The reason the majority of Americans oppose removing the statues is simple: they do not believe the left’s race-baiting lies. Since the issue of Confederate statues became a national issue, the leftist establishment media has attempted to convince the American public that anyone who doesn’t want to remove the monuments is racist. They seem to believe the fact that white supremacist groups oppose the statues’ removal bolsters their argument – but it doesn’t. Regardless of what the left wants us to believe, the majority of Americans don’t subscribe to white supremacist views. Instead, the folks who want the memorials to remain are motivated by something else: preserving American history.

Confederate statues symbolize many different things to many different people. To some, they are a symbol of American slavery – and these people want the monuments to remain, so we never forget this part of our history. To others, it might symbolize the war that was fought between the north and the south. Some see them as symbols of state’s rights. Of course, the statues could represent all of these things at once.

Regardless of how Americans view the statues, it is obvious that removing them would not benefit American society. If we removed every single Confederate monument in the country overnight, Al Sharpton and the rest of the hand-wringing left would still be hollering about how racist we all are. It will never be enough.

Speaking of Sharpton, the good reverend recently stated that he believes that the Jefferson Memorial is an insult to his family – and he doesn’t want his tax dollars to fund its upkeep. Why? You guessed it – because Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. If you believe that the left will stop at Confederate statues, I’ve got a wonderful bridge in New York that I’d like to sell you.

Here is the reality: slavery existed in the United States. Many people participated in this barbarous and inhumane practice. However, the Confederate Monuments do not exist to celebrate slavery; they exist to remind us of one of the most horrendous evils that occurred in our country – and the bloody war that was fought to end it. Most Americans don’t look at a statue of Robert E. Lee and wish we were back in the days when whites subjugated blacks. They see it as a stark reminder of a dark time in our history – one that nobody wishes to repeat.

About the author

Jeff Charles

Socio-political Correspondent at LibertyNation.com. A self-confessed news and political junkie, Jeff’s writing has been featured in Small Business Trends, Business2Community, and The Huffington Post. Born in Southern California and having experienced the 1992 L.A. Riots up close and personal, Jeff’s insights are informed by his experiences as a black man and a conservative.Race Relations & Media Affairs Correspondent