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Mapping Confederate Icons and Their Contestation

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Social Science Quarterly

Published online on

Abstract

["Social Science Quarterly, Volume 102, Issue 3, Page 1016-1031, May 2021. ", "\n\nObjective\nIn this article, we use racial threat theory to examine the contemporary debate over the place of Confederate memorials in the public square.\n\n\nMethod\nWe predict removal of Confederate iconography based on sociodemographic and organizational measures at the county level using logistic regression analysis.\n\n\nResults\nWe find strong evidence to suggest that county characteristics involving urban density, minority presence, average per capita income, and historic patterns of racially motivated social organization do influence the decision to keep or remove Confederate memorials today.\n\n\nConclusions\nThis project speaks to the spatial politics of commemorative landmarks as focal points for broader struggles over the formation and maintenance of community memory and identity. It also sheds light on competing paths moving forward—one focused on stripping memorials away from the public square and the other focused on protecting them for posterity.\n\n"]