Most Americans support removing Confederate statues, poll finds. Here’s the breakdown

In the midst of protests against police brutality, figures from America’s slave-owning past have been defaced, torn down, or removed. But a new poll from Quinnipiac University found the majority of Americans support taking down Confederate monuments.

Overall, 54% of respondents in the poll said Confederate statues should be removed, while 40% opposed taking them down.

The percentage of those who supported taking the statues down differed according to party, gender, race, and location:

• Party. 81% of Democrats; 17% of Republicans.
• Gender. 57% of women; 50% of men.
• Race: 82% of Black people, 51% of white people.
• Location. 61% of those in Northeastern states; 51% in Southern states.

Some groups opposed taking down statues more than others.

Of white respondents without a four-year college degree, 37% support removing monuments while 64% with a four-year degree said the same.

Eighty-percent of Republicans oppose taking down monuments and 58% of respondents living in rural areas said they don’t support removal.

Half of the white respondents said the Confederate flag was “symbol of racism,” compared to 90% of Black respondents who said it was racist.

The poll was conducted from July 9-13 with a sample size of 1,273 registered voters. The margin of error is 2.8 percentage points.

On Thursday, a memo signed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper excluded the Confederate flag from the list of flags that can be flown at military installations, effectively barring them, The Associated Press reported.

“We must always remain focused on what unifies us, our sworn oath to the Constitution and our shared duty to defend the nation,” the memo said, according to The Associated Press. “The flags we fly must accord with the military imperatives of good order and discipline, treating all our people with dignity and respect, and rejecting divisive symbols.”

President Trump tweeted in June that he would “not even consider” renaming military bases named for Confederate leaders.

The U.S. Navy and Marines have banned displays of the Confederate flag, CNN reported. The Army said it’s open to considering removing the names of Confederate leaders from military bases, according to CNN.

Several Confederate statues have been removed or defaced since the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in Minneapolis police custody, led to nationwide protests.

Floyd, 46, died while in police custody on May 25. Now-fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for about eight minutes, has been charged with murder. He remains jailed under a $1.25 million bond.

Three other officers in the case were also fired. They have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Most Americans support removing Confederate statues, poll finds. Here’s the breakdown."