ELON—Confederate statues are a public symbol of North Carolina's past, but are they offensive to today's residents? A poll from Elon University finds that nearly 2/3 of the Tar Heel state thinks the monuments should stay in place, but Poll Director Jason Husser says that their opinions have various motivations.

Husser says he thinks the largest non-demographic indicator of opinions is the way that people view the Civil war. He says “those who think that the Civil War was about slavery tend to think that the monuments are glorifying the confederacy. Those who think it was about states’ rights see it as more of about helping people understand history and honoring those who died.”

In terms of demographics, Husser says that race and party I.D. are the two biggest indicators of statue support. The Elon study found that 36% of Democrats and 91% of Republicans think the monuments should remain. In terms of race, 77% of whites think the statues should stay compared to 27% of African Americans. He says that age also influences opinions, as 75% of North Carolinians over 65 think the statues should stay, and those under see marginally less support.

Recent controversy has sparked with Silent Sam and a monument in Pittsboro having been removed, but 95 statues remain in the Tar Heel state. Husser says that when “the majority of people want something…and the opposite happens, it causes lots of frustration.” However, he says there is hope for the future of the situation in the form of alternative solutions.

Though a significant number of North Carolinians do not support the statues, those opposed to the idea tend to agree with alternative solutions. He says installing plaques for historical context and relocating the monuments to history museums were well-received as alternatives to taking down the statues.