Debates around Confederate monuments and the laws in Southern states preventing their removal often center around concerns that, on one side, honoring the Confederacy is an affront to racial minorities, and on the other side, that the monuments are merely an expression of Southern heritage or honor soldiers who died for a “Lost Cause.” Despite vigorous public debate, the effects of the legal protection of these symbols on Southerners’ political attitudes and behaviors have yet to be empirically tested. Using a survey experiment, this project tests whether laws protecting Confederate monuments affect Southerners’ feelings of political efficacy, belonging in their community, and likelihood of politically participating.
Lucy Britt and Tyler Steelman, both PhD candidates in UNC’s department of Political Science, joined us as part of our Tell About the South discussion series to present their research associated with this topic. The research presented was also collected by Emily Marie Wager who is currently conducting field research.
You can listen to their presentation and the following Q&A below and access the accompanying slides here.