The protesters told CNN affiliate WNCN on Thursday that the new insignia was inspired by George Floyd, and they believe it is a nonviolent way to update and change the meaning of the movement.
Part of the inscription reads: “We recognize the breakdown and the buildup and the change that has been put into motion.”
The 75-foot Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument has been in front of the Raleigh Capitol building since 1895. The new plaque covers the front of the statue that reads, “To our Confederate dead.”
“It’s inventions like this that might head us in the right direction where real systemic change to the systemic racism in this country may happen,” the plaque’s artist Thomas Sayre told WNCN.
Sayre said that he also hopes it inspires deep conversations and change.
