NEW ORLEANS – Pierre McGraw, President of the Monumental Task Committee, released the following statement at a Tuesday, December 8, 2015, press conference regarding the upcoming City Council vote to remove City monuments:
“First, I would like to thank everyone for coming today and for your support. As you are likely aware, The Monumental Task Committee is a volunteer, non-profit organization that has been maintaining, repairing and restoring all of the monuments in New Orleans for over 25 years. We do what the city should do, but doesn't. We protect, repair, and preserve all our monuments. Let me be clear, all of the funds used are raised by our organization, Not a single dime comes from taxpayers. We do this work because we are proud of our City and its diverse history and culture. In fact, we are standing in front of the a statue that just received a complete restoration by our organization. Neglected, dirty and with several broken pieces, the volunteers of the MTC spent two years raising money and restoring this beautiful monument dedicated to philanthropist Margaret Haughery.
“Given the job the we have done for 26 years, we, like most others in the community, were surprised and disheartened by the Mayor’s announcement in June to remove four historic monuments. We now understand that he has called for a vote for the removal before the year's end by the City Council. We stand united in opposition to this proposal.
“The Monumental Task Committee has recently been drawn, like all of you, into the controversy surrounding the removal of four monuments. We have tried to play a role in calming divisiveness. We organized a peaceful public forum in August which was attended by hundreds of New Orleans citizens where we discussed the issues and crafted constructive solutions. We invited the Mayor and the City Council to participate. Sadly, none of them chose to attend.
“Resulting out of that forum and much dialogue, the Monumental Task Committee proposes the following positive solutions.
“The MTC cares for all monuments and advocates the use of monuments as educational opportunities in an environment of tolerance and respect for all city monuments, especially those whose meanings have changed over time
“The MTC supports the installation of interpretive plaques to help us all gain a better understanding of the original context and the current context of the monuments. The language on the plaques would be written by a consortium of stakeholders.
“The MTC supports erecting new monuments. We have always tried to facilitate the efforts of organizations who wish to dedicate new monuments. In fact, since we hosted our August forum, we are pleased to report that we have been approached by four groups to discuss ways we can work together to put up new monuments in time for the 2018 Tricentennial, including ones of a former President, renowned chef Paul Prudhomme, a marker to Revolutionary War soldiers and a monument to the Civil Rights Freedom Riders. We also identified several prominent locations for these new monuments.
“Despite repeated requests for meetings with the Mayor's office and the office of Property Management to discuss these outlined solutions and to help identify methods to interpret the monuments so they serve a more productive purpose in our community, these requests have gone unanswered. Instead, the Mayor has chosen to railroad his ordinance through the City Council during the busy and sacred holiday season without any meaningful hearing process. This is very worrisome.
“ We have it on good authority that the mayor has contracted for the removal of these monuments without putting this out for public bid. He has refused multiple records request by our organization for this information. We also understand he has plans to move them to a storage facility. As an organization who understands the delicate and fragile nature of these monuments, we are gravely concerned about the lack of public information or plan. How will the public be reassured that the contractor is certified or has experience with removing such valuable relics? Has insurance been procured to cover damage? Is the storage facility safe from fire, damage or theft? How will the monuments safely be transported to such a location? Why the rush to move the monuments to a storage facility without providing an opportunity for a historical society or the like to take ownership of these monuments? These are PUBLIC pieces if art. It is absurd to think that such lack of information is appropriate.
“We are asking you, Mr. Mayor, why was there not a public bid process where we, the citizens of this community, could be assured that these type of questions are adequately and transparently considered through a process open to the public? Instead, you claim that you don't have to give out any information because some alleged secret, anonymous donor is going to pay for this. We will not accept such a response. For these reasons we urge the City Council and the Mayor to conduct hearings where all of these questions be answered before any vote is taken. To do otherwise is improper, unethical and illegal.
“The Monumental Task Committee, partnering with organizations such as Save Our Circle, has garnered the support of thousands of local citizens by obtaining signatures on petitions. In the petitions, citizens expressed their support of the work of the Monumental Task Committee in recognizing the value of all monuments in New Orleans as a visual record of our shared past. This included preserving the four monuments the mayor currently has proposed to remove.
“You will see on the table right here that we have over 31,000 of these signed petitions. Everyday citizens who stand with us in asking for Mayor and the City Council to find solutions to keep these historic monuments while respecting the views of people from every walk of life with appropriate markers and placards. An open, transparent bidding and committee process is the only fair and respectful way to achieve this goal. Immediately following this press conference, we will be delivering the 31,000 petitions you se here to City Hall to the Mayor and the City Council to demand that we be heard. New Orleans is known as America's most iconic city. It has earned that title by preserving its rich history, not by removing and destroying it. We urge you all to stand with us by contacting the Mayor and your City Council members and asking them to support a fair, respectful and open process. Thank you.”
