History is littered with the shattered remains of toppled statues, and more are toppling now in the American South.

A violent rally this weekend in Charlottesville, Va., centered in part on the city’s plan to relocate a statue of the Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. A memorial to Confederate soldiers in Durham, N.C., was pulled down by protesters on Monday. Four Confederate monuments were taken down by the city of Baltimore on Wednesday; New Orleans did the same earlier this year.

But stiff opposition remains. Debates are raging over whether the statues should fall because they commemorate those who fought to uphold slavery, or stand because they remind us of a history that cannot be erased.