Texas leads U.S. in removal of Confederate symbols, study finds

The Children of the Confederacy Creed plaque at the Capitol in Austin, Texas. Republican House Speaker Joe Straus said in a letter to state officials that the plaque is "blatantly inaccurate.” The Children of the Confederacy Creed plaque at the Capitol in Austin, Texas. Republican House Speaker Joe Straus said in a letter to state officials that the plaque is "blatantly inaccurate.” Photo: Jay Janner, MBO / Associated Press Photo: Jay Janner, MBO / Associated Press Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Texas leads U.S. in removal of Confederate symbols, study finds 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN — Texas has removed the most Confederate symbols and statues in the country since 2015, according to a new Southern Poverty Law Center study. But the trend does not extend to the state Capitol, where lawmakers have been reluctant to take down monuments and plaques.

Texas cities removed 31 symbols, which include statues and renaming of schools and streets, according to the report. Austin led the way, with the removal of 10 symbols, the majority of them on the UT campus. Houston renamed seven schools and one street.

Cities in Texas and across the country have removed hundreds of symbols following the mass shooting at a black church in Charleston in 2015, which prompted lawmakers in South Carolina to remove the Confederate flag from the statehouse.

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"As a consequence of the national reflection that began in Charleston, the myths and revisionist history surrounding the Confederacy may be losing their grip in the South," the SPLC argues in its report. "Yet, for the most part, the symbols remain."

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Houston ISD spent $1.2 million to change the names of eight schools that once honored figures of the Confederacy. Reagan High became Heights High; Davis High was changed to Northside High; Lee High took the name of longtime educator Margaret Long Wisdom; Johnston Middle was changed to Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School; Jackson Middle became the Yolanda Black Navarro Middle School of Excellence; Dowling Middle was renamed after Audrey Lawson; and Lanier Middle changed its first name to honor former Houston Mayor Bob Lanier instead of Confederate poet Sidney Lanier.

Dowling Street, named after Houston businessman Dick Dowling who served as a lieutenant in the Confederacy, was renamed Emancipation Avenue by the City of Houston in January 2017.

Two controversial monuments remain in city parks.

The Spirit of the Confederacy statue has stood in Downtown's Sam Houston Park for 110 years. A monument commemorating Dick Dowling was erected in Market Square Park in 1905 before moving to its current location in Herman Park.

Both statues have been targets for graffiti and petitions calling for their removal. Andrew Schneck, 25, was arrested in August after he tried to detonate a bomb at Dick Dowling's statue. A park ranger stopped Schneck as he was placing explosives near the monument's base.

Mayor Sylvester Turner asked city staff last August to study Houston's public art collection and make recommendations after calls to remove the monuments.

Alan Bernstein, Turner's communications director, said a panel of city staff met to discuss the issue several times but have not yet presented the mayor with final recommendations.

Despite removing dozens of symbols, Texas still has the second-highest number of Confederate memorials in the country. The State Capital alone has about a dozen Confederate icons, according to estimates by the State Preservation Board. Rep. Eric Johnson, D-Dallas, has been pushing to remove a plaque near his office that claims slavery was not the cause of the Civil War.

More than nine months after Johnson called for the plaque’s removal, Gov. Greg Abbott’s staff is still studying the issue. Attorney General Ken Paxton recently asked 13 individuals — from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Preservation Board Executive Director Rod Welsh to Capitol Curator Ali James — to submit information by June 5 "if they have a special interest or expertise in the subject matter," according to the Dallas Morning News.

Alejandra Matos covers politics, education and immigration policy. Follow her on Twitter. Subscribe to the Texas Take politics newsletter.