For the past several years the placement of Confederate symbols and flags in Southern states has stirred controversy, particularly after a shooting carried out by a white supremacist in a Charleston, South Carolina church which killed. In 2017, a rally held by white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia ended in the death of a young woman protesting the racist gathering.

This past Friday, Governor Phil Murphy ordered the removal of the Mississippi state flag, which has the Confederate symbol on it, from Liberty State Park, which overlooks Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. In a statement Murphy said “The Confederate symbol displayed on the Mississippi state flag is reprehensible and does not reflect our values of inclusivity and equality.”

Governor Murphy is right. Although there is room to argue that some symbols and monuments relating to the Civil War are merely a testament to the history of the South, it is also true that those very symbols are ones that racists rally around. White nationalists often use symbols of the Confederacy in their own propaganda and meetings – the idea of a nation that is built upon racism and a subservient minority class is part and parcel of their evil intentions. Therefore, such symbols should be banished from all public places.

Governor Murphy ordered the removal of the Mississippi flag before the shooting at a Chabad near San Diego which left one worshipper dead. But the attack, carried out by a white supremacist, reinforces my point. Holding on to remnants of a racist past only encourages those that still carry bigoted attitudes to carry out evil acts. White nationalists see these symbols as proof that the United States remains a racist country at heart, one that has been forced to conform to modern society whilst retaining their hatred of minorities. As such, any symbol or monument that reminds of that past should be kept in a museum, not hanging on a state flag.

To put this in perspective, imagine if Germany kept the Nazi swastika in the corner of their flag as a reminder of their history. You would be furious, wouldn’t you? And surely you wouldn’t want that swastika being flown in any area, public or private. The Mississippi state flag is no different, and Governor Murphy was wise and correct in his determination that it should no longer be a part of Liberty State Park.