Tell-It Report: Two Confederate Statues to be Reinstalled Under Trump

A statue torn down in Washington, D.C., during Black Lives Matter protests and a monument in Arlington National Cemetery will be erected once again.

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In Gullah Geechee communities, a "tell-it" was a designated lookout, community warning system and the most trusted source for news and information. The Tell-It Report is ContrabandCamp’s weekly roundup of the Black stories that deserve more attention — from politics to entertainment.

A Confederate statue torn down during 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests and another taken down under the Biden administration will find new life as the Trump administration announces their reinstallation.

Twelve years after his death, the parents of Kendrick Johnson—who was found rolled up in a gym mat in 2013—are still seeking justice with a new lawsuit against the Georgia Department of Public Health.

George Mason president Gregory Washington will keep his job amid several federal investigations surrounding the school’s DEI efforts.

Read the full stories below:

Confederate statues torn down by protesters in 2020 to be reinstalled under Trump

Two statues torn down in the wake of 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests will be reinstalled in Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Va.

The statue of Confederate Gen. Albert Pike that once sat in front of the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in D.C. will be reinstalled, NBC News reports.

“The restoration aligns with federal responsibilities under historic preservation law as well as recent executive orders to beautify the nation’s capital and re-instate pre-existing statues,” the National Park Service said in a statement.

In June 2020, protesters tore down the bronze statue, dousing it in lighter fluid and setting it on fire. The protest was a part of nationwide outrage in the aftermath of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd’s deaths at the hands of police. A week after the statue toppled, President Donald Trump, who was still in his first term, called for the statue to be put back up.

Following that news, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the controversial monument erected by Confederate veteran Moses Ezekiel, known as the “Reconciliation Monument,” will also be reinstalled at Arlington National Cemetery, WTOP reports. It was taken down in 2023 by the Biden administration.

“It never should have been taken down by woke lemmings. Unlike the Left, we don’t believe in erasing American history—we honor it,” Hegseth said on X.

According to the Associated Press, Congress estimates that the statue, built in 1914, will cost $10 million to replace, and the Pentagon says it will take two years to erect. While these changes have become a priority for Trump, the NPS has lost a quarter of its staff in the aftermath of his administration enacting deep budgetary cuts, according to The Guardian.

These changes are a part of Trump’s larger effort to restore racist monuments that celebrate the country’s dark history. In March, Trump issued an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” It instructs the Interior Department to restore statues and displays “removed or changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology.”

Kendrick Johnson’s family files new lawsuit against the Georgia Department of Health

Kendrick Johnson’s parents are still seeking justice for his death, 12 years after the teenager’s body was found rolled up in a gym mat at Lowndes County High School.

Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson filed a $12 million lawsuit on July 25 against the Georgia Department of Public Health for refusing to correct the cause of death on Kendrick’s death certificate. They’re seeking $6,000,000 in compensatory damages and $6,000,000 in punitive damages, WMGT reports.

DPH originally listed Kendrick’s cause of death as accidental positional asphyxia. His parents want it changed to non-accidental blunt force trauma, which aligns with independent autopsy results. The autopsy also states that the teen suffered injury and trauma to his internal organs. The lawsuit also contains a photo of his organs stored in a biohazard bag that has since gone missing. They also accuse the medical examiner of butchering his body during the initial autopsy.

According to the Miami Herald, the complaint says that, “By happenstance, the Plaintiffs recently discovered their son’s body had been tampered with in a feeble attempt by authorities to conceal a multitude of injuries on KJ’s body.”

Kenneth told WMGT that they filed paperwork “several times” to get his death certificate corrected. “They want to just dismiss evidence of what happened to Kendrick, and we will not allow them to do that,” he said.

In 2013, the 17-year-old’s classmates found his body rolled up in the rug and sitting upright in the high school’s gym. Lowndes County officials ruled that Kendrick died in a freak accident and suffocated while trying to retrieve a shoe that fell in the mat. Federal authorities concluded an investigation into whether his civil rights were violated when the Justice Department reported that they "found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges" in 2016.

Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk stated “no foul play” after a second investigation in 2021. Shortly after, his parents filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the sheriff’s office, the Crime Lab, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the school board.

His parents maintain their belief that their son was murdered.

"We are going to continue to keep fighting for Kendrick because his life mattered," his mom told 11 Alive after filing a lawsuit in 2023.

George Mason University president holds onto his job despite DEI attacks

Gregory Washington will maintain his position as president of George Mason University after facing attacks from Republicans for the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Washington’s job as the first Black president at Virginia’s largest university was at risk as the institution’s commitment to hiring a faculty and staff that reflected its diverse student body had come under scrutiny under Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The school’s Faculty Senate campaigned in support of Washington after several federal investigations were launched over the past month.

On Friday, Youngkin’s school board appointees held a meeting to discuss Washington’s fate and to review the Virginia university’s DEI and antisemitism efforts, the New York Times reports. Though they didn’t make a move to terminate Washington, the board passed a resolution “merit-based approach” to student success and faculty and staff hiring. The resolution also directed that the school be compliant with ongoing investigations and end diversity statements in hiring.

The board also voted to give Washington a 1.5 percent raise, NBC Washington reports.

“It became very clear that the consequences of terminating a very popular official in the form of President Washington were going to be quite significant,” said sociology professor Ben Mansky, according to the outlet.

Washington discussed university-related business matters but not diversity, NYT reports. He released a statement after the meeting, according to NBC Washington.

“Regardless of how one views the events unfolding at George Mason University, today’s display of unity by the Mason community is inspiring,” the statement said. “It is a reminder of how centrally important our university is to northern Virginia’s families and economy. For now, the community can refocus on what really matters most: in just three weeks, we will welcome the incoming class of 2025, which is once again the largest, most diverse and one of the most qualified freshman classes in the history of George Mason. Fellow Patriots, you are simply the best. Let’s get back to work.”

ICYMI

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• Maxwell Anderson, the Milwaukee man convicted of killing and dismembering 19-year-old Sade Robinson after their first date, has been sentenced to life in prison

• The BET Hip-Hop Awards and Soul Train Music Awards have been suspended indefinitely by the network.

• A summer camp in Southern California run by grandmas is equipping kids with life skills, including cooking, sewing and embroidering.

• Daniel Kaluuya will star in a “Spider-Verse” spinoff film, “Spider-Punk.”