New Orleans began removing the first of four prominent Confederate monuments early Monday, the latest Southern institution to sever itself from symbols viewed by many as representing racism and white supremacy.
Workers started removing the first memorial, one that commemorates whites who tried to topple a biracial post-Civil War government in New Orleans, overnight in an attempt to avoid disruption from supporters who want the monuments to stay, some of whom city officials said have made death threats,
reports CBS New Orleans affiliate WWL-TV.
Workers who were inspecting the statue ahead of its removal could be seen wearing flak jackets and helmets. Police officers watched the area from atop the parking garage of a nearby hotel.
Then, it was gone:
Three other statues -- to Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard and Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis – were to be removed in later days now that legal challenges have been overcome.
The city issued a statement overnight saying private funding had been obtained covering the cost of the removal of the four monuments.
“There’s a better way to use the property these monuments are on and a way that better reflects who we are,” New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in an interview Sunday with The Associated Press.
But opponents of the removal of the monuments began a candlelight vigil very early Monday at the Davis statue, and things there got heated, WWL says.
