Whipping post removed from Delaware courthouse square

GEORGETOWN, Del. (AP) — An 8-foot tall whipping post was removed from a Delaware county courthouse square Wednesday after activists said the post was a reminder of racial discrimination.

The post outside the Sussex County Courthouse in Georgetown was removed after an hour and a half of excavation and put in storage unit with other historical artifacts.

The Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs said the post was used to bind and whip people publicly for committing crimes up until 1952. Delaware formally removed whippings from state criminal justice laws in 1972, according to Delawareonline.com.

However, Black people were disproportionately punished, according to the historical group.

The group said the post was a “cold deadpan display” that didn’t “adequately account for the traumatic legacy it represents.”