Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

2 hours ago

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

3 hours ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

3 hours ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

4 hours ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

6 hours ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

7 hours ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

8 hours ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

8 hours ago
What’s Left of Confederate Monuments in California
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 5 years ago on
July 15, 2020

Share

As the U.S. reckons once again with racial inequities, it’s triggered a new round of calls to remove statues and monuments idolizing Confederate leaders and those who enslaved people. While Mississippi is retiring its Confederate battle flag and Alabama and Georgia join the movement to topple bronze statues, California is not without its vestiges of racism and oppression.

Elizabeth Castillo
CALmatters

“You do have a deep link between Southern California and the Confederacy,” said Ryan Keating, an associate professor of history at California State University, San Bernardino. “In the wake of the war, you have Southern veterans who relocate to Southern California en masse and when they arrive, they attempt to memorialize their service through the creation of monuments.”

Keating said these monuments frequently coincide with other historical events. For example, a number of Confederate monuments were erected in the early 1950s shortly after the Supreme Court ruling on Brown v. Board of Education which declared state-sanctioned segregation unconstitutional.

“These monuments and these memorials tend to be in very public places,” Keating said. “They coincide with moments in which African Americans seem to be gaining some political power or voice and they’re designed with a very specific intent of protecting a certain type of power and serving as a reminder of who’s in control.”

A Handful of Highway Markers and Cemetery Memorials Remained Visible

In California, a handful of highway markers and cemetery memorials remained visible but the Black Lives Matter movement quickly pushed the state to eradicate them completely. Some of the markers were erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a historical group dedicated to “honoring the memory of its Confederate ancestors” and labeled neo-Confederate by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The organization still exists today.

“The United Daughters of the Confederacy totally denounces any individual or group that promotes racial divisiveness or white supremacy,” says a statement by President General Nelma Crutcher on the organization’s national homepage. “We are saddened that some people find anything connected with the Confederacy to be offensive. Our Confederate ancestors were and are Americans. We as an Organization do not sit in judgment of them nor do we impose the standards of the 19th century on Americans of the 21st century.”

Messages left with the California chapter and the national organization were not returned.

Jacob Ohara contributed to this story.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

DON'T MISS

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

DON'T MISS

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

DON'T MISS

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

DON'T MISS

Over 100 Former Senior Officials Warn Against Planned Staff Cuts at US State Department

DON'T MISS

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

DON'T MISS

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

DON'T MISS

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

UP NEXT

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 35,000 Acres, More Evacuations Ordered

UP NEXT

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

UP NEXT

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

UP NEXT

CHP Officer Dies in Line of Duty After Medical Emergency While on Patrol

UP NEXT

Downtown Housing Could Rise in Many California Cities, but Barriers Remain

UP NEXT

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

UP NEXT

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

UP NEXT

California Republicans Send Message to Trump: Deport Criminals, Not Our Vital Workers

UP NEXT

CA Rolls Back Its Landmark Environmental Law to Speed Housing Construction

UP NEXT

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

39 minutes ago

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

53 minutes ago

Over 100 Former Senior Officials Warn Against Planned Staff Cuts at US State Department

1 hour ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

2 hours ago

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

3 hours ago

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

3 hours ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

3 hours ago

Trump to Sign Bill on Friday at 5 p.m., White House Says

3 hours ago

Colombia President Recalls Ambassador to US

3 hours ago

Riverdale High School Coach Arrested for Allegedly Arranging to Meet Minor

3 hours ago

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

As the drama unfolded Wednesday night into Thursday, Rep. David Valadao was one of the initial holdouts on voting for the “One Big Bea...

5 minutes ago

5 minutes ago

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

An ICE agent talks with migrants about their scheduled appointments with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Father’s Day, to learn about their immigration status, in Chicago, Illinois., U.S., June 15, 2025. (Reuters File)
28 minutes ago

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

Boeing logo and miniature satellite model are seen in this illustration taken, March 10, 2025. (Reuters File)
37 minutes ago

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

39 minutes ago

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

Clovis Police are searching for Pathmani Goonawardena, 82, who went missing nearly three weeks ago and was last seen driving a white Volvo near Copper and Auberry, possibly en route to Coarsegold. (CHP)
53 minutes ago

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

A general view of a U.S. State Department sign, on the day U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 4, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

Over 100 Former Senior Officials Warn Against Planned Staff Cuts at US State Department

An electric vehicle charging location is shown from the view of a drone in Carlsbad, California, U.S., May 14, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

Actor Michael Madsen arrives at the Hollywood Film Awards in Beverly Hills, California November 1, 2015. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend