Four Confederate monuments to vanish from New Orleans after council vote

Brett T. | 7:55 PM on December 17, 2015

If we remember correctly, it was the tragic shooting of 9 members of the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston that led the public to demand the removal of the Confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina State House. Other memorials with Confederate connections were vandalized and boxed up, while some students are still lobbying to have the names of their high schools and colleges changed.

The City Council of New Orleans today demonstrated that while the media and public have largely moved on from the campaign to erase all signs of the Confederate era, the effort hasn’t died. Council voted 6–1 today to authorize the removal of four statues: Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, P.G.T. Beauregard, and a depiction of the Battle of Liberty Place.

New Orleans City Council votes to remove four Confederate statues: Monuments depicting Robert E. Lee,… https://t.co/1052EYqIbD | @The_Gambit

— Breaking NOLA News (@breakingnonews) December 17, 2015

According to WDSU, council member Jared Brossett said that the monuments were symbols of oppression, and James Gray alleged that the monument to Robert E. Lee was a monument to a criminal. “It breaks my heart that in 2015 we are still having to deal with the effects of slavery,” said Nadine Ramsey.

Some activists said the council should go further and change street names associated with “white supremacy.”

Today, I signed the ordinance calling to relocate four confederate monuments so they can be remembered, not revered pic.twitter.com/mKfUJzTeuz

— Mitch Landrieu (@MitchLandrieu) December 17, 2015

https://twitter.com/1kenwilson24/status/677604583489863687

@MayorLandrieu you're relocating monuments to US soldiers. By law all Confederate troops are American veterans.

— God Emperor Reno (@EmperorReno1st) December 17, 2015