City workers have already removed graffiti from two Confederate monuments and a historical marker that was discovered this morning.

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The faint outlines of the words “Smash white supremacy” can still be seen on the back of a rectangular monument erected by the Sons of Confederate Veterans in 1986 to honor Guilford County residents who fought for the Confederacy.

Video posted to Periscope by Peter D’Abrosca shows more extensive graffiti on an obelisk, erected by the the Sons of Confederate Veterans in 1985 that commemorate a meeting between Confederate President Jefferson Davis and two generals in April 1865 to discuss options following Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. The perpetrator wrote “Tear them down” on the front, and “Defend Durham” on the back — likely a reference to activists who face criminal charges for tearing down a Confederate monument in Durham.

A historical highway marker erected by the state of North Carolina in 1940 that commemorates a meeting of the Confederate cabinet in a railroad car during the same period that Davis conferred with his generals was also defaced with a large X.

Greensboro police Detective EA Early said the vandalism was reported to the city by a passerby at about 9:30 a.m. The two monuments and historical marker are located on property owned by the North Carolina Railroad. The city’s hasty clean up comes hours before the start of the National Folk Festival, which will bring thousands of people into downtown.

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