Two more Confederate statues have come down. Facing legal restrictions, the only way the city of Memphis, Tennessee could find to remove the two statues was to sell the parks that contained them to an open-space charity. Once that was done, the statues were taken down within hours. The AP story at The Guardian: “Memphis citizens cheer overnight removal of two Confederate statues.”
The two Memphis statues were considered a blight on the community, but action on them was hastened by fears that the one statue of a historical terrorist leader could serve as a flash point for violent action by current white supremacist and terrorist groups, as happened this year in the neighboring state of Virginia. Other cities have been able to move statues more quietly. Most of the remaining Confederate statues that are not at historical sites are likely to be removed in a relatively short time as laws and budgets permit.
