... where their presence can be construed as an endorsement of slavery.
Only an ignorant fool would construe that.
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Obviously, by merely keeping the statues, the city is not endorsing slavery today. But if a group of people had brutally enslaved your ancestors, and had continued to oppress them for decades thereafter, would you like to see their favorite generals on display in squares that are visited every day?
That having been asked, the statue removal protesters had every right to do what they did, and to oppose the war being waged on white prople.