My first peer-reviewed publication (with @LoganRStrother) is finally out! We scrutinize the belief that removal of Confederate icons violates free expression rights. Huge thanks to everyone who offered feedback and encouragement along the way! https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21565503.2020.1748067#.Xox2BVhsDPI.twitter">https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/...

We field a nationally representative survey and find that this belief is a decidedly minority position (held by only 14% of respondents) and is strongly correlated with overall support for Confederate monuments.

Finally, racial attitudes are a very strong correlate of believing that removal violates free expression rights.

Our findings join a chorus of research showing that support for Confederate icons is strongly correlated with racial attitudes, and should offer pause to those who might view a rights-based defense of the icons as ostensibly race-neutral (especially policymakers).