Confederate statues were built to further a ‘white supremacist future’

Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, hosts memorials to a number of Confederate figures, including Gen. Robert E. Lee. (Creative Commons photo by OZinOH)
As President Trump doubled down on his defense of Confederate statues and monuments this week, he overlooked an important fact noted by historians: The majority of the memorials seem to have been built with the intention not to honor fallen soldiers, but specifically to further ideals of white supremacy.
More than 30 cities either have remove