The times of the Civil War may seem long gone, but they are in fact relevant and occuring today. During the recent protests, protestors have been tearing down and vandalising Confederate statues that were put up after the Civil War. The Black community is upset and outraged (for good reason) at the treatment they have been recieveing, especially from the police and government. Having statues of generals who fought for slavery is not a good image and is upsetting for most people. Most southern lawmakers have made it harder to get rid of these statues, so protestors have gone in a different direction in eliminating them.
One of the six freedoms in the first amendment is the freedom to assemble/petition. This allows the protest against the government to occur. The amendment says that they must be peaceful, however the mistreatment of Black people for so long has caused many to protest aggressively. In an ideal world, peaceful protests would immediately lead to change. This is not the case, and that is reflected in the fact that people have spoken up about these statues in the past and nothing was done. I believe that these statues represent times when the U.S. was seperated and when slavery was accepted, and they are long overdue being torn down.
Resources:
https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1512/black-lives-matter
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/06/11/confederate-statues-attacked-protesters-george-floyd/
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