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Justin Timberlake joined Taylor Swift and other celebrities from Southern states who are calling for the removal of their state’s confederate statues.

Timberlake took to social media and posted a video from ACLU that details the history of monuments that celebrate KKK leaders and those who benefited from racism. “When we protest racism in America, people think we are protesting America itself. Why is that the reaction? Because America was built by men who believed in and benefited from racism. Plain and simple. If we plan to move forward, these confederate monuments must come down,” tweeted Timberlake.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

…a state that happens to be the home of many many confederate monuments. I’ve been listening closely to the ongoing debates about what to do with these statues — and I really want to take a minute to talk about this. ⠀ ⠀ When we protest racism in America, people think we are protesting America itself. Why is that the reaction? Because America was built by men who believed in and benefitted from racism. Plain and simple. ⠀ ⠀ This is when you hear “But that’s all in the past”. So let’s be clear… those men who proudly owned and abused Black people are STILL celebrated all over the country. ⠀ ⠀ There are roughly 1,848 confederate statues of in the US. More than half are in The South, and it’s not acceptable. No one should be protecting the legacies of confederate leaders and slave owners. ⠀ If we plan to move forward, these monuments must come down. But let’s remember: Removing these statues does not erase our country’s vile history of oppression — removing them is a symbol of respect for Black people in America and it’s a step towards progress and actual equality for all. ⠀ ⠀ This video is by @aclu_nationwide, which has been fighting hard to remove these statues across the country. Their Legal Director #JeffreyRobinson has been speaking on this issue for years (you can find more in the link in my bio). Please follow them and learn more about the history of the monuments in your own states and counties.

A post shared by Justin Timberlake (@justintimberlake) on Jul 6, 2020 at 2:05pm PDT

A statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest sits in the Tennessee State House, Forrest was a general of the confederate army and the first Grand Wizard of the KKK.

Taylor Swift also called for the removal of the statue saying, “When you fight to honor racists, you show Black Tennesseans and all of their allies where you stand.” Reese Witherspoon and Faith Hill also showed their support of the removal of confederate statues in Tennessee and Mississippi.

 

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I’m asking the Capitol Commission and the Tennessee Historical Commission to please consider the implications of how hurtful it would be to continue fighting for these monuments. When you fight to honor racists, you show black Tennesseans and all of their allies where you stand, and you continue this cycle of hurt. You can’t change history, but you can change this. 🙏

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Jun 12, 2020 at 1:01pm PDT