More than 300 Confederate Symbols Removed, Yet Hate Still Stands
SPLC Convenes Roundtable Marking Sixth Anniversary of Charleston Church Shooting
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – On Thursday, June 17, POV will host a roundtable Facebook live event featuring activist Bree Newsome, documentary director CJ Hunt, and SPLC Chief of Staff Lecia Brooks discussing the future of the Confederate symbols movement and the fight to remove symbols of white supremacy from public spaces. The conversation will be moderated by Erika Dilday, executive producer for POV.
The roundtable will also announce SPLC’s latest Whose Heritage? data drop, which addresses the unfinished business of reckoning with the 32 empty Confederate pedestals that remain standing, primarily in Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. In the six years since the Charleston Massacre, 333 symbols to white supremacy have come down. Yet over 2,000 symbols of hate still stand across the U.S.
After learning that nine Black people were killed during a Bible study at Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C. by a gunman that fetishized Confederate symbols, the SPLC began to catalogue all the Confederate symbols located in public spaces across the country in their report: Whose Heritage? Public Symbols of the Confederacy. This research is updated annually to provide local communities with the tools to spur the removal of white supremacist symbols across the country.
To watch this live event, visit POV's Facebook Page [https://www.facebook.com/povdocs] on Thursday, June 17 at 6:30 p.m. CT / 7:30 p.m. ET.
WHEN:
Thursday, June 17, 2021
6:30 p.m. CT / 7:30 p.m. ET
WHERE:
POV Docs Facebook Live
WHO:
As Chief of Staff, Lecia Brooks works alongside both leadership and staff in service of SPLC’s mission to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people.
Bree Newsome is an artist who drew national attention in 2015 when she climbed the flagpole in front of the South Carolina Capitol building and lowered the Confederate battle flag. Bree’s act of defiance against a symbol of hate has been memorialized in photographs and artwork and has become a symbol of courage, resistance and the empowerment of women.
CJ Hunt is the director of The Neutral Ground, a documentary about monuments, memory, and how to break up with the Confederacy. Documenting the monuments fight from 2015-2020, The Neutral Ground sets out to uncover why a losing army from 1865 still holds so much power in America. The film debuts at Tribeca Film Fest June 19 and on PBS’s POV July 5.
Erika Dilday is a producer, journalist and media executive who focuses on telling authentic stories about marginalized communities that lead to dialogue and social action. She was recently named executive director, American Documentary | executive producer POV, which will feature The Neutral Ground as the broadcast premiere of its 34th season on public television.
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About The Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people. For more information, visit: www.splcenter.org. “SPLCenter” on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
About CJ Hunt
CJ Hunt is the director of The Neutral Ground, a documentary about monuments, memory, and how to break up with the Confederacy. Documenting the monuments fight from 2015-2020, The Neutral Ground sets out to uncover why a losing army from 1865 still holds so much power in America. The film debuts at Tribeca Film Fest June 19 and on PBS’s POV July 5.
About POV
POV (a cinema term for “point of view”) is television’s longest-running showcase for independent nonfiction films. POV premieres some of the best, boldest and most innovative programs every year on PBS. Since 1988, POV has presented over 600 films to public television audiences across the country. POV films are known for their intimacy, unforgettable storytelling and timeliness, putting a human face on contemporary social issues. Learn more at pov.org and follow @povdocs on social media.
