The Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson monument base is viewed in Wyman Park Dell in Baltimore, Maryland, after being removed by the city on August 16, 2017
AFP: Poll shows most Americans want to keep racism-tainted statues
A new poll Thursday showed that most Americans favor leaving in place statues of Civil War figures associated with the defense of slavery, offering a measure of support for President Donald Trump's stance on the issue.
Days after a violent rally by right-wing groups to protest removal of a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia, the NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found that 62 percent felt the statues should remain as historical symbols.
"Just 27 percent said they should go," said NPR. And, in a striking breakdown, 44 percent of African Americans agreed the statues should stay, against 40 percent who said they should be removed.
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WNU Editor: We were faced with the same numbers (if not more) when I was part of a group that wanted to remove Lenin's Mausoleum from Red Square in the 1990s. And the biggest supporters .... like the above poll that shows that a majority of Black Americans want to keep the status where they are .... came from those who suffered the most from Communism. I will not deny it, but I had a lot of trouble accepting the fact that most did not want the removal of Lenin's tomb .... just like I am sure that there are many right now who are having trouble accepting the above poll result. In the end I took this defeat as one more reason why we must redouble our efforts to educate the Russian public on the history and legacy of Communism .... and we are now using Lenin's Mausoleum as a tool and symbol to make this point.. Will the same be done in the U.S. .... yes and no. The push to educate the U.S. public on the history of slavery will always be there even though the country's demographics is changing, and most people do not feel responsible for that legacy. But the politics of race is still deeply embedded in U.S. politics, and I certainly do not see any let-up on this issue from the political and media class.
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