Pensacola removed a 129-year-old confederate monument in a downtown park.
Contractors carefully removed an eight-foot statue of a Confederate soldier that stood on top of a monument in Pensacola. Protesters waved Confederate flags while the statue came down.
“They’re going to be required to remove it carefully and to preserve it. That is our goal to not damage the monument in any way,” city spokeswoman Kaycee Lagarde said. “For now it will be taken to the Port of Pensacola for storage until the city determines what will ultimately happen to the monument or where its final resting place will be."
The city council voted 6-1 to remove the statue and 7-0 to change the name of the park from Lee Square to Florida Square. The park was renamed for Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in 1887. 150 people submitted comments, spoke by livestream, or phoned during the city council’s meeting, People protested the statue and counter protesters gathered outside city hall.
The city is spending $135,000 for the work.
Photos by Getty Images