Whipping Post Removed From Public Display in Delaware

A 20th-century whipping post in Georgetown, Delaware, was removed from public display on July 1 after community members denounced the “violence and racial discrimination” the post symbolized, reports said.

The eight-foot-tall post was used in the punishment of various crimes, and the punishments disproportionately affected people of color, the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs (DHCA) said.

The whipping post was originally located at the Sussex Correctional Institution, which was established in 1931, the DHCA said. The post was later donated to the DHCA and moved to the Old Sussex County Courthouse in 1993.

This video shows the post being removed from the grounds of the Old Sussex County Courthouse in Georgetown on July 1. The DHCA said the post will be moved to a storage facility with other historical artifacts. Credit: Hunter Harmon via Storyful