<p>Hundreds marched against a scheduled (but then canceled) "Dixie Freedom Rally" in Austin, Texas, on Saturday. Public pressure against the event was immense, and after receiving threats of violence, the Texas Confederate Militia decided to postpone the event to a later date. That didn't stop the counter march the Austin chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America had planned.</p> 
<p>Chanting their way through downtown Austin, the capital of Texas, demonstrators denounced Confederate symbolism and called for the dismantling of public works and streets that bear the name of Confederate icons. At the end of the march, fights broke out both between protesters and between protesters and police. Two people were arrested. Event organizers reached out to lawyers and are fighting the charges.</p> 
<p>According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, only Virginia has more Confederate symbols (which include roads, schools, statues and county names) than Texas.</p> 
<p>Austin has already been taking steps to remove public reminders of its history as part of the Confederacy. Just last week Texas House Speaker Joe Strauss called for removal of a plaque near the Capitol that asserts slavery was not the underlying cause of the Civil War. And finally after years of resistance, administrators at the University of Texas Austin decided to take down <a type="internal">Confederate statues on campus</a>.</p> 
<p>Related stories <a type="internal">The University of Texas is removing its Confederate statues</a> <a type="internal">Workers removed a statue of Robert E. Lee from a Dallas park under police guard</a> <a type="internal">Retailers say Confederate flag sales are surging after Charlottesville</a></p>
Hundreds marched against 'Confederate pride' in Austin, Texas