Controversial History Debated By City Council After Charleston Shooting

The statues up for debate include those of Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia; Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War; P.G.T. Beauregard, the first prominent general of the Confederate States Army; and the Battle of Liberty Place, an attempted insurrection of mostly Confederate veterans against the Reconstruction state government. The removal of that monument is subject to a federal court order; the city will now take the legal steps needed for that to happen.

Opponents called upon the council to consider alternative plans.

It was an emotional meeting – often interrupted by heckling – infused with references to slavery, lynchings and racism, as well as the pleas of those who opposed removing the monuments to not “rewrite history”. “If it would make the city more color blind, if it would create more balance, I would sacrifice nearly any physical object to get us to that point”.

The plaintiffs’ move was likely planned well ahead of time, considering the scope of the lawsuit, and something the Landrieu administration expected. The group also suggested alternatives instead of removal, which included new monuments to contrast the ones in place and plaques to describe the history behind the Confederate monuments.

During the hearings on the monuments in New Orleans, the Historic District Landmarks Commission, the Human Relations Commission and the Vieux Carré Commission voted in favor to recommend the removal of the monuments.

“The time surely comes when [justice] must and will be heard”, he told the council.

The mayor says it will cost about $170,000 to remove the monuments.

“Prior to 1861, Robert E. Lee, P.G.T. Beauregard and Jefferson Davis were members of the Armed Forces of the United States”.

Specifically, the New Orleans City Council evaluated all four monuments on the basis of whether they constituted a nuisance.

Ramsey said: “It breaks my heart that in 2015 we are still having to dealing with the effects of slavery”.

“This is the council chambers”, she said. “We, the people of New Orleans, have the power and we have the right to correct these historical wrongs”. But others say that would be an assault on the city’s rich cultural and historic history. And when the two sides have met at public discussions before the council, they’ve raised the roof and pointed fingers at each other – and not just the index finger.

But we should mention, this fight to remove the monuments in New Orleans has been a long one.

The monuments are located in Lee Circle on St. Charles Avenue in the City’s Museum District.

Passionate voices have weighed in on both sides of a City Council measure that goes to a vote Thursday. New Orleans is finally exhibiting the political will needed to give them a proper burial.

Anti-Confederate sentiment has grown since then around the country, along with protests against police mistreatment, as embodied by the Black Lives Matter movement.