How do citizens interpret contentious symbols that pervade their community? And what downstream effects does state protection of these symbols have on how citizens of different backgrounds feel they belong in their community? We approach these questions through the lens of race and Confederate monuments in the American South. We rely on two original surveys to illustrate 1) the symbolic meanings Americans attach to these monuments and 2) how state protection of them impacts residents’ feelings of belonging. We find that perceptions of Confederate monuments vary by race: White U.S. residents are drastically less likely to perceive them as symbolic of racial injustice than are Black U.S. residents. Further, state protection of Confederate monuments leads to a diminished sense of belonging among Blacks, while leaving Whites unaffected. This research moves beyond scholarship examining simple support for or opposition toward contentious symbols, developing a deeper understanding of what meaning those symbols can hold for individuals and what their impacts are on individuals’ feelings of belonging and engagement in their communities.

公民如何解释遍布其社区的争议性符号？对这些符号的状态保护对不同背景的公民如何感觉自己属于自己的社区有什么下游影响？我们通过种族和美国南方同盟纪念碑的镜头来解决这些问题。我们依靠两次原始调查来说明1）美国人对这些古迹的象征意义，以及2）国家对古迹的保护如何影响居民的归属感。我们发现，对同盟纪念碑的理解因种族而异：与美国黑人居民相比，美国白人居民将其视为种族不公的象征的可能性要小得多。此外，邦联纪念碑的国家保护导致黑人之间的归属感减弱，而白人则不受影响。