To: the U.S. states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi

Stop Honoring Confederate "Heroes" With Official State Holidays

Five states of the old Confederacy – Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi – still celebrate Confederate “heroes”— Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee— with official holidays. This petition calls for an end to these celebrations. #StopHonoring

Why is this important?

Across the Deep South, public officials are finally recognizing that the Confederate flag is a deeply divisive symbol – one that represents the era of slavery, Jim Crow segregation and the white supremacist resistance to the civil rights movement. It’s a symbol that has long been brandished by racist extremists – most recently Dylann Roof, the gunman in the massacre at “Mother Emanuel” in Charleston.

But even as the flag is being taken down, five Southern states continue to celebrate Confederate “heroes” with official holidays honoring Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, and Robert E. Lee, the Confederacy’s top general.

It’s time to stop the celebrations.

We’re calling on Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi to end their holidays honoring Davis and Lee. We should honor those who represent American ideals, not those who led the fight to preserve slavery.