NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A French Quarter commission has voted to remove a 124-year-old obelisk monument dedicated to the White League's brief, and bloody, overthrow of a biracial Reconstruction government after the Civil War.
On Wednesday, the Vieux Carre Commission voted 5-1 to remove the 35-foot-high obelisk monument, which stands on the edge of the old historic district. The commission governs aesthetics and bylaws in the historic district.
The City Council must approve the removal. Mayor Mitch Landrieu has called for the removal of the monument and three other prominent statues of Confederate leaders.
New Orleans joined a number of other Southern cities moving to eradicate Confederate and white supremacist symbols after the killings of nine worshippers at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina in June.
– by AP Reporter Cain Burdeau
