According to a new poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), 58% of White Americans support preserving the history and legacy of the Confederate South.
- The national survey began in 2022 and sought to examine Americans’ attitudes toward Confederate monuments in public spaces.
- In 2024, new PRRI polling data alleged that 26% of Americans believe Confederate monuments should be left in place, while 35% believe they should remain but with added information on the “history of slavery and racism.”
- Only three in ten Americans (28%) believe Confederate monuments should be removed from public spaces and put in museums, and only 9% believe they should be destroyed altogether.
By the numbers: The polling data revealed quite a bit about the age, race, and political leanings of Americans who weighed in on the subject.
- Gen Z was listed as the only generation without majority support for “preserving the legacy of the Confederacy” at 41%, compared with two-thirds of the Silent Generation at 62%, 58% of Generation X, 56% of baby boomers, and 51% of millennials.
- Nearly half of Republicans (47%) supported leaving the monuments as they are, compared with one-quarter of independents (25%) and only 8% of Democrats. Independents have become more likely to support the legacy of the Confederacy, at 52%, compared with 46% in 2022.
- American Blacks are said to be the only racial group without majority support for efforts to preserve the Confederacy at 25%, compared with 58% of White Americans, 55% of mixed-race Americans, and 54% of Hispanics.
Why it’s important: Those who demonstrate to protect the legacy and heritage of the Confederacy continue to face police brutality and malicious lawfare, despite holding an opinion that resonates with a majority of Americans.
- In June, Unite the Right attendee Jacob Dix won a “historic” mistrial in a lawsuit that outrageously charged that he “burned a torch with the intent to intimidate” during a 2017 rally to preserve a statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia.
- In February, Patriot Front leader Thomas Rousseau was arrested on the same charge, making him one of many individuals being maliciously prosecuted for events stemming from Unite the Right.
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