Confederate Monuments Cause Problems in the City of New Orleans

The monument of P.G.T. Beauregard, a Confederate general, is perched at the entrance of City Park. The monument is one of four in New Orleans dedicated to the Civil War period considered for removal after a national conversation about racism and Confederate symbolism was ignited by the murders of 9 people in the church shooting in Charleston, SC in June 2015. Photo credit: Rodriana Edwards

Sidney Holmes
August 21, 2015

Mayor Mitch Landrieu is calling for the relocation of Confederate monuments around New Orleans.

On July 9, Mayor Landrieu submitted a formal request for the City Council to relocate The Robert E. Lee monument at Lee Circle, the General P.G.T. Beauregard statue on Esplanade Avenue in front of City Park, the Jefferson Davis monument on Jefferson Davis Parkway, and the Battle of Liberty Place Monument at Iberville Street.

Landrieu also requested for Jefferson Davis Parkway to be renamed after Dr. Norman C. Francis, who served as president of Xavier University for 47 years.

In an address to the City Council, Mayor Landrieu provided reasons behind his initiative to have the monuments removed.

“This is about more than the men represented in these statues,” said Landrieu. “This discussion is about whether these monuments, built to reinforce the false valor of a war fought over slavery, ever really belonged in a city as great as New Orleans whose lifeblood flows from our diversity and inclusiveness”.

The city is in the middle of a 60-day period of deliberation with New Orleans residents, the City’s Human Relations Commission, the Mayor’s Welcome Table initiative and the City Council to decide the fate of these monuments.

The 60-day period is a part of a process that is required by the city code when public property structures must be removed because they are suspected to be nuisances.

Landrieu said that this process is important because the people of New Orleans did not get a chance to be heard when the statues were first erected in the 19th century, but today citizens have a say in the fate of these monuments.

However, there are people on both sides of the issue. Governor Bobby Jindal released a statement in support of preserving history and keeping the statues in place.

“Governor Jindal opposes the tearing down of these historical statues, and he has instructed his staff to look into the Heritage Act to determine the legal authority he has as Governor to stop it,” said Doug Cain, Governor Jindal’s spokesperson.

Others, like Jamie Elizabeth Johnston, english sophomore, believe that leaving the statues up sheds a bad light on New Orleans.

“Those people do not represent the values of this city. Plus, there are actual New Orleanians who have actually contributed to benefiting and helping to shape this city for the better,” said Johnston.

The final vote will be determined in September, after which the fate of the monuments will be released to the public.