SPLC Criticizes Trump Administration’s Plans for Confederate Statues
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has condemned the Trump administration’s decision to restore Confederate monuments that were taken down during the protests following George Floyd’s death in 2020.
Five years ago, amid widespread protests against racial injustice, a statue of Confederate General Albert Pike was toppled in Washington. Now, under President Trump’s guidance, the National Park Service (NPS) plans to repair the statue and return it to its original location near the White House this October.
An NPS representative stated that this restoration aligns with recent executive orders aimed at enhancing the nation’s capital and adhering to the Historic Preservation Act. However, the agency has not disclosed the costs related to the repairs or the statue’s relocation.
In light of this announcement, the SPLC released a statement criticizing the reinstallation of such statues, regarding it as part of a larger trend in which history is “whitewashed” to glorify certain narratives, including that of Confederate history.
“Today, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) condemns the ongoing efforts of the Trump administration to whitewash Black history while venerating Confederate history,” the SPLC remarked. “The planned return of the Albert Pike statue in Washington, DC is an attempt to diminish the racist legacies of the failed rebellion, celebrate its leaders, and uphold the institutions of slavery and white dominance.”
Rivka Maizlish, a senior research analyst at the SPLC Intelligence Project, added, “Confederate leaders should not be celebrated or idolized. They defended slavery and sought to undermine our democracy. In 2020, activists worked to correct past wrongs by removing this statue, carrying forward the legacy of abolitionists and civil rights activists. The current administration seems intent on erasing struggles for freedom.”
Pike, born in 1809 in Boston, moved to Arkansas and became a brigadier general in the Confederate army within two years. He led a Native American unit supporting Confederate forces from 1861 to 1862 before resigning after a dispute with General Thomas C. Hind.
Aside from his military service, Pike was one of twelve signers of a 1858 letter advocating for the expulsion of free Black individuals from Arkansas, claiming “Evil is the existence of a free class of people of color among us.” He was also heavily involved in Freemasonry, playing a significant role in Scottish Rite from 1859 until his death, with the organization requesting the Pike statue’s construction in DC in 1899.
There are claims about Pike’s associations with the Ku Klux Klan post-Civil War, although these claims have been contested. In 1868, he called for unity among Southern whites who opposed Black voting in an editorial.
Earlier this year, the SPLC published its fourth edition of a report on public symbols of the Confederate Army. This report examined how the narrative of “lost causes” has been utilized to roll back diversity and inclusion efforts while reinstating Confederate symbols.
Additionally, the Trump administration has been active in restoring Confederate names to military bases that had been renamed by Congress. Critics argue that these moves are merely superficial attempts to revive Confederate memorials under the guise of honoring less controversial historical figures.
The SPLC maintains its commitment to challenging the presence of Confederate symbols and monuments as part of its broader mission for racial justice in the South and across the U.S.
In Alabama, there are 175 surviving Confederate memorials, yet only 18 have been removed from the state since 2015.
