Three black city councilmembers in Dallas, Texas, voted against the removal of a Confederate memorial, CBS-DFW reports.
The vote to delay the removal was lead by three black councilmen, and resulted in the city council voting 9-6 for the delay. The memorial is in downtown Dallas on the edge of Pioneer Park Cemetery, and honors Confederate States of America president Jefferson Davis and other Confederate leaders.
The memorial has divided Dallas, with more than fifty people attempting to sway the council one way or the other during the public comments section of the meeting; one man, activist John Fullinwider, grew so passionate in his demands that the CSA monument be removed that he himself was removed from the council chamber.
Fullinwider was not the only person against the monument to make waves in his case against it. In a scathing editorial, published in The Dallas Observer, Jim Schutze lambasted the council for voting to delay action regarding the memorial.
“The big lesson here is that dealing with the city’s Civil War legacy and history of white supremacy is not something that can be left to our local elected back leadership,” wrote Schutze, who is white. “A majority of the black council members proved with their votes this week that they, as individuals, are not capable of dealing with these questions honorably or intelligently.”
Supporters of the monument say that it is part of Dallas history, and therefore needs to stay where it is.
"This is history," monument supporter Carole Haynes said. "History should not be taken down in any country, in any place, for any reason."
The council argued that the delay was necessary because they weren't sure what they would do with the statues if they were removed. A statue of Robert E. Lee that was taken down from a public park is currently in storage; the city voted not to sell it.
“We need to defer this, and do it right,” Councilman Tennell Atkins, who is black, said about the decision.
Representative Eric Johnson wants Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to intervene in the matter, and will file an official opinion, according to The Dallas Morning News. He previously appealed to Governor Greg Abbot, but hasn’t seen any action.
“He hasn’t found the answer,” Johnson said of asking the governor for help in removing Confederate monuments. “I think I’m going to have to go find it myself.”
Johnson says keeping the memorial sends a very clear message to black people.
“It sends the same message today that it sent back in 1959,” Johnson said. “To remind everyone of who's in charge.”
