Alabama

these aren't casual harmless slights, some old vestiges of a bygone era.

This is overt, in-your-face, confrontational, unapologetic, embedded institutional racism that hasn't changed at all!

New Orleans Mayor Landrieu:

"Can you look into that young girl's eyes and convince her that Robert E. Lee is there to encourage her?" Landrieu said. "Do you think she will feel inspired -- and hopeful -- by that story? Do these monuments help her see a future with limitless potential?"

Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange:

"History is a battleground, and there have been a lot of battles fought, and I'm a historian. My degree is in history, so I have a sense of purpose about history, and I just don't know why you would change history by removing a name from a particular school."

Yep, those are the words of an elected official indirectly defending state-sponsored oppression and institutional racism.