Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials
There are more than 160 monuments and memorials to the Confederate States of America and associated figures that have been removed from public spaces in the United States, all but five of which have been since 2015. Some have been removed by state and local governments; others have been torn down by protestors.
The Robert E. Lee monument in New Orleans, Louisiana, is taken down on May 19, 2017.
Planned removal of the Robert Edward Lee Sculpture in Charlottesville, Va. sparked protests and counter-protests, resulting in three deaths.
Stancheons around former site of Jefferson Davis Highway marker in Horton Plaza, San Diego on August 16, 2017
The empty, vandalized pedestal of the Albert Pike Memorial in Washington, D.C., on July 2, 2020, after the statue was toppled by protesters
Charleston church shooting
The Charleston church shooting, also known as the Charleston church massacre, was an anti-black mass shooting and hate crime that occurred on June 17, 2015, in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine people were killed, and one was injured, during a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the oldest black church in the southern United States. Among the fatalities was the senior pastor, state senator Clementa C. Pinckney. All ten victims were African Americans. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting at a place of worship in U.S. history and is the deadliest mass shooting in South Carolina history.
People mourning the deaths at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church; image taken June 20 (three days post-shooting)
Dylann Roof entering Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church through a side door at 8:16 pm, as captured on CCTV
A prayer vigil at Morris Brown African Methodist Episcopal Church
Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Charleston South Carolina. 21 June 2015