Overview

• National Park Service plans to reinstall the 1901 bronze statue of Confederate General Albert Pike on its original pedestal in Washington, D.C., in October.
• Demonstrators toppled and defaced the monument during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests after the killing of George Floyd.
• The restoration follows President Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies to restore public monuments removed during protests.
• In June, the administration instructed the Pentagon to revert military base names honoring Confederate generals by designating alternate namesakes with the same surnames.
• The decision has reignited national debates over racial justice and the role of Confederate symbols in public memory.