Despite Wisconsin's allegiance to the Union during the Civil War, its loyalties to the Union and the end of slavery were not as clear-cut as Wisconsinites might like to think — and symbols of the Southern Confederacy still survive here.
Known as a progressive state during the Civil War era, Wisconsin claimed "free state" status and residents in Wisconsin aided runaway slaves' escapes to Canada.
But slavery was still practiced into the 1840s, even though it was made illegal by the 1787 Northwest Ordinance, said Patrick Jung, professor of history and anthropology at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Southern soldiers, lead miners and farmers brought slaves to Wisconsin with them in the 1820s, and an 1840 census confirmed 11 slaves living in the state, though historians say there were many more unaccounted for.
The first recorded draft riots — in opposition to President Abraham Lincoln's call for soldiers to join the Union — occurred in Port Washington.
In 2017, Madison removed two memorials for the Confederate soldiers who died at Camp Randall. But several Confederate symbols remain in Wisconsin, and slavery is still referred to in the state constitution.
Across the country, protesters and local governments are removing Confederate monuments, which historians and others say perpetuate a legacy of pain and inequity for Black citizens.
The first recorded draft riots — in opposition to President Abraham Lincoln's call for soldiers to join the Union — occurred in Port Washington.
In 2017, Madison removed two memorials for the Confederate soldiers who died at Camp Randall. But several Confederate symbols remain in Wisconsin, and slavery is still referred to in the state constitution.
Across the country, protesters and local governments are removing Confederate monuments, which historians and others say perpetuate a legacy of pain and inequity for Black citizens.
"What's the difference between walking around a corner and looking at a police officer with a shotgun pointing at you, or walking around a corner and looking at a Confederate flag waving?" asks Clayborn Benson III, the executive director and founder of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society/Museum.
"It's a continued threat that this could return, that 'you are less than us,'" he said.
Here's what we know about how the Confederacy lingers in the Badger State.
Horlick High School Rebels
Horlick High School in Racine was established in 1928 and has held the team name "Rebels" since 1949.
The name was originally inspired by Russell A. Rebholz, a coach at the school in the 1940s. But as years passed, Confederate imagery became associated with the nickname.
In 2002, Horlick vowed to replace its Confederate-inspired mascot and erase related symbols from the school, according to the Racine Journal Times.
But the school retained "Rebby the Rebel" until two years ago, according to Racine United School District spokesperson Stacy Tapp.
On June 8, a petition created by Horlick alumnus Shannon Campion asked for the school to "cut all ties to the Confederacy." More than 2,000 people had signed it as of June 25.
Alumni who've graduated in the past four years said they remembered walking past Confederate-inspired symbols in the school's halls, but don't know how many remain.
Tapp did not comment on whether Confederate symbols are still used in the school.
"As always, we are open to dialogue with our Horlick students and families to ensure that all imagery or nicknames associated with our school are ones of which we can all be proud," Tapp said in a statement.
The student-created petition also referred to a study by 24/7 Wall Street — a Delaware-based financial company that produces financial news — that ranked Racine as one of the worst cities for African Americans to live in, based on gaps along racial lines in eight areas, including education and achievement.
Racine ranked second-worst in the nation, surpassed only by Milwaukee.
Samad Qawi, a 2016 graduate of Horlick High School and student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who helped with the petition, said his time at Horlick was tainted by sadness and disappointment.
"To have something that represents slavery in a school of 45% black students ... I went through Horlick as well as I could," Qawi said, "So I could achieve what I achieved, and I knew that there would come a time to address this issue."
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