Fla. Removing Confederate Monuments, Symbols Faster Than Almost Any Other State

WJCT News | By Brendan Rivers

Published September 11, 2020 at 10:02 AM EDT

The monument is under the control of the University of Florida and its nonprofit, Historic St. Augustine Inc.

More than 100 Confederate monuments and symbols have been removed across the country this year and Florida is taking them down faster than 46 other states.

According to an analysis by BeenVerified.com, 119 Confederate monuments and symbols have been taken down amidst widespread protests since Minneapolis police killed George Floyd in May, bringing the nationwide total of monuments and symbols still standing to 1,652.

Most of them honor Confederates like Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson. Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Confederate general who was the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, has the sixth most monuments.

Florida has removed 30% of its confederate monuments and symbols over the past few years, including 11 since Floyd’s death, with 57 still remaining.

Only California, Maryland and Oklahoma have removed more in recent years.

Brendan Rivers can be reached at brivers@wjct.org, 904-358-6396 or on Twitter at @BrendanRivers.