NEW ORLEANS – At the year one celebration of Welcome Table New Orleans, Mayor Mitch Landrieu called on City officials to begin taking action to remove four prominent “divisive” statues and consider replacing them with symbols that reflect the culture, unity, hope and future of New Orleans as the city looks to its 300th anniversary in 2018.
The four monuments are: General Robert E. Lee Monument, General P.G.T. Beauregard Equestrian Statue, Jefferson Davis Monument and the Liberty Monument (Crescent City White League).
Mayor Mitch Landrieu released the following statement:
“Symbols matter and should reflect who we really are as a people, but times have changed. That is not to say that we should forget our history, but there is a time and place to commemorate and learn from our past. Prominent locations in our city such as Lee Circle ought to reflect the unity, diversity, culture and the wonderful things that bring us together rather than something in our history that has separated us. My Welcome Table New Orleans project as the Mayor is to help lead heartfelt and thoughtful discussion in and amongst our residents so that we all can feel good about making this choice together and stand proudly in front of the rest of the country – one team, one fight, one voice, one city.”
