Across the US, states are grappling with pushback regarding a trove of monuments and place names that many argue are ahistorical, degrading, and inappropriate amid a nationwide reckoning with racial injustice and benevolent forms of white supremacy.
From the Christopher Columbus statue in the North End, to the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, lawmakers are reconsidering controversial symbols and namesakes, and in many cases, have taken active steps to change them.
Here is a running list of some of the symbols and monuments under scrutiny, and how state officials are responding.
Andrew Jackson statue in Jackson, Miss.
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A Mississippi city named after former US President Andrew Jackson will remove a downtown statue of him and put it in a less prominent spot.
The City Council in Jackson, Mississippi, voted 5-1 Tuesday to relocate the bronze figure that has stood outside City Hall for decades.
No immediate plans were made for a time or place to move the Andrew Jackson statue, which is a bit larger than life and shows him standing in a military uniform. The statue was made in 1968 and dedicated in 1972. City Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay said it could go to a museum.
The Mississippi state flag
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed a bill last Tuesday evening to retire the last state flag in the United States that includes the Confederate battle emblem.
His office announced a signing ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion, two days after a broad coalition of legislators passed the landmark measure to change the flag.
As soon as the Republican governor signed the bill, the flag lost its official status. Mississippi has come under increasing pressure to change its flag since protests against racial injustice have focused attention on Confederate symbols.
Now, a commission will design a new flag, one that cannot include the Confederate symbol and must have the words “In God We Trust.” Voters will be asked to approve the new design in the Nov. 3 election. If they reject it, the commission will set a different design using the same guidelines, to be sent to voters later.
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Abraham Lincoln Emancipation Memorial in Park Square, Boston
The Boston Art Commission voted unanimously to remove the Emancipation Memorial in Park Square last Tuesday night. The bronze statue depicts Abraham Lincoln standing over a formerly enslaved man and was donated to the city in 1879 to celebrate Lincoln’s emancipation of slaves. It is a replica of one in DC.
The monument has come under scrutiny in recent weeks as protests against anti-Black racism has led communities to reexamine monuments of slave traders and Civil War generals, as well as those that demean Black men and women.
Christopher Columbus statue, North End, Boston
The often-vandalized statue of Christopher Columbus was found decapitated in early June, and was put in storage for the time being. The monument might be removed permanently as city officials and residents discuss whether the controversial explorer’s likeness should occupy a prominent position on the waterfront.
“We don’t condone vandalism, and it needs to stop,” Mayor Martin J. Walsh said. However, he added, “given the conversations that we’re having right now in our city and throughout the country, we’re also going to take time to assess the historic meaning of the statue.”
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The statue will be in storage temporarily while the damage is assessed.
Christopher Columbus statue, Providence
The controversial Christopher Columbus statue in Providence’s Elmwood neighborhood was also placed in storage until city leaders figure out whether to move it to a new location or permanently remove it from public property.
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed an executive order June 22 to remove “Providence Plantations” from the full state name in official documents, agency websites, and on employee pay stubs.
The state Legislature and state treasurer also announced they would be removing those words from official documents because they conjure up images of slavery.
Theodore Roosevelt statue, Museum of Natural History, NYC
The bronze statue of Theodore Roosevelt on horseback and flanked by a Native American man and an African man, which has presided over the entrance to the American Museum of Natural History since 1940, is coming down.
The decision was proposed by the museum and agreed to by officials of New York City, which owns the building and property.
For many, the “Equestrian” statue at the museum’s Central Park West entrance had come to symbolize a painful legacy of Colonial expansion and racial discrimination.
John Wayne Airport, Orange County, Calif.
Leaders of Orange County’s Democratic Party are pushing to drop film legend John Wayne’s name, statue, and other likenesses from the county’s airport because of the actor’s racist and bigoted comments.
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According to the Los Angeles Times, officials passed an emergency resolution earlier this week and are calling on the Orange County Board of Supervisors to restore the airport’s original name: Orange County Airport.
In a 1971 Playboy magazine interview, Wayne makes bigoted statements against Black people, Native Americans, and the LGBTQ community.
The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
Princeton University in New Jersey will remove Woodrow Wilson’s name from its public policy school and one of its residential colleges, university President Christopher Eisgruber said June 27..
The university’s board of trustees found that Wilson’s “racist thinking and policies make him an inappropriate namesake for a school or college where scholars, students, and alumni must stand firmly against racism in all its forms.”
The decision contrasted with a vote by Princeton’s trustees in 2016 to keep Wilson’s name on campus buildings and programs, despite student protests that led to a review of his legacy there.
Andrew Jackson statue, Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.
Protesters June 23 tried to pull down a statue of former president Andrew Jackson near the White House. On June 27, federal authorities charged Lee Michael Cantrell, 47, of Virginia; Connor Matthew Judd, 20, of Washington, D.C.; Ryan Lane, 37, of Maryland; and Graham Lloyd, 37, of Maine with destruction of federal property.
Judd was arrested June 26 and appeared in Superior Court of the District of Columbia on June 27, authorities said. The other three have not been apprehended. The FBI and the US Park Police have been investigating the incident.
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“The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia will not stand idly by and allow our national monuments to be vandalized and destroyed,” Acting US Attorney Michael R. Sherwin said in a statement.
Previous Globe coverage and material from wire services were used in this report.
Brittany Bowker can be reached at brittany.bowker@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @brittbowker and on Instagram @brittbowker.