The death of 46-year-old African-American George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers in May of 2020 has stirred a change in people's views and actions toward racism and social injustice. Apart from different forms of protests that followed, people have been removing Confederate monuments, not just in Minnesota but across the country. While others consider these statues a part of history, many believe they symbolize white supremacy and racism.

The first Confederate statues that people toppled were those along Richmond, Virginia's Monument Avenue, starting with the statue of former President of the Confederate States of America Jefferson Davis on June 10th. Other states in support of the Black Lives Matter movement followed suit to remove all offensive statues, including those of presidents who enslaved people.

Confederate statues are a painful reminder of the past and the ongoing battle against racism in the country. Their presence can manipulate history for some and celebrate those who supported slavery and division. As public monuments, they endorse the things those individuals stood for, which is not a good message for future generations.

Removing Confederate statues helps race relations, as this can be considered a clean slate, especially with the division in the country. 

Some scholars consider the current social and political actions as an initial step in an "overdue structural reform." According to University of Virginia's Julian Bond, Professor of Civil Rights, and Social Justice Kevin K. Gaines, "The current racial justice movement is unprecedented and can be considered a game changer."

Achieving unity and improved race relations by removing Confederate statues will not be easy, as people have their own biases. Who gets to make these decisions, and can we be assured that they are made objectively? There's a lot to consider, especially when assessing which statues should be removed or altered and how our history of these events will now be taught to avoid confusion.

The removal of these Confederate monuments is not enough. There is a need for proper education regarding how we teach our children about the history of colonialization and slavery, along with racism and discrimination. We are not erasing history by doing so; we are simply restructuring what is taught to light properly is shed on injustices against human rights so that they are no longer celebrated.