House Democrat Introduces Bill To Replace Confederate Monuments Nationwide

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) on Wednesday unveiled legislation that would create a National Park Service program to speed the removal of Confederate monuments across the country.

Rush's bill would establish a grant program called the Emancipation Historic Preservation Program to take down Confederate symbols and replace them with new structures, including commemorations that honor the emancipation of enslaved Black people. 

“It is past time that we eradicate these totems of treason and replace them with symbols that represent the true promise of America, such as the emancipation of Black Americans," Rush said in a statement.

The Southern Poverty Law Center estimated in a report last month that there are nearly 1,800 Confederate symbols on public land, including monuments and various forms of government property named after Confederate officials.