CAIR Press Releases

CAIR Backs Removal of Ala. Confederate Monument Near Historically Black College, Welcomes Va. County Vote to Drop Confederate Highway Names 

(WASHINGTON D.C., 12/1/2021) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today supported efforts to remove a Confederate monument located near a historically Black college (HBC) in Tuskegee, Ala.  

CAIR also welcomed the renaming of highways in Fairfax County, Va., previously named for Confederate historical figures.  

In Alabama, a chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), a Confederate heritage group, will fight a lawsuit filed by Macon County that could lead to the removal of a Confederate monument in Tuskegee, a nearly all-Black city with a historically Black College. The UDC’s attorney said Tuesday that the group owns the square on which the monument stands and wants it to remain there.  

In Virginia, a Fairfax County task force dedicated to making decisions about Confederate street names voted last night to recommend name changes for Lee Highway and Lee Jackson Memorial Highway, named for Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson respectively. The task force will submit name suggestions to the county Board of Supervisors, after which the proposals will go to the Commonwealth Transportation Board for final approval. 

SEE: Confederate group opposing suit over Tuskegee monument site  

https://www.cbs42.com/alabama-news/confederate-group-opposing-suit-over-tuskegee-monument-site/

Task force votes to recommend name changes for two Fairfax highways named for Confederates  

https://wjla.com/news/local/task-force-votes-to-recommend-name-changes-for-two-fairfax-highways-named-for-confederates

In a statement, CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison said: 

“The Confederacy and those who fought for it sought to uphold white supremacy, maintain slavery and destroy our nation. Its traitorous champions do not deserve to be honored with memorials on public land. We support all efforts to remove symbols of racism and hate, and urge communities nationwide to do so.” 

Allison said the American Muslim community and CAIR stand in solidarity with all those challenging anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, white supremacy and all other forms of bigotry.  

SEE: CAIR-Chicago Condemns Graffiti Targeting Highland Park Synagogue 

CAIR Welcomes Settlement in Maryland Anti-Muslim Discrimination Case 

CAIR Welcomes Maine Ski Resort Dropping Name Disparaging Native American Women 

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.            

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.           

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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com