Workers Take Jefferson Davis Statue Off Its Pedestal In New Orleans

Enlarge this image toggle caption Gerald Herbert/AP Gerald Herbert/AP

Workers in New Orleans dismantled the city's Jefferson Davis monument early Thursday, removing the prominent statue of the Confederate leader that had stood for more than 100 years.

"This historic moment is an opportunity to join together as one city and redefine our future," Mayor Mitch Landrieu said as he announced that crews had begun removing the statue, the second of four planned removals of Confederacy-related monuments.

As workers slung a strap around the statue's waist and lifted it off its pedestal, "at least 100 people cheered from across the street, outnumbering the few dozen protesters, some waving Confederate flags," member station WWNO's Laine Kaplan-Levenson reported.

"We would have preferred it to be in the daytime," monument opponent Malcolm Suber told Kaplan-Levenson, "so everybody could see it in the light of day. But we'll take this."

Like an earlier removal, this one was performed in the dark because, Kaplan-Levenson said, of "death threats against city officials and contractors."

Before the monument could be removed, police had to clear the immediate area of demonstrators — both supporters of the monuments and those who want them taken away. Barricades were used to keep the sides separated, NOLA.com reported. The news outlet said chants by monument supporters included "Where's Mitch?" while opponents chanted, "Hey hey, ho ho, white supremacy has got to go."

Legal fights over the statues have slowed the removal of the monuments, but a federal appeals court said in March that the city could remove them. The New Orleans City Council endorsed the plan in December 2015, as member station WWNO has reported.

The first to go was the Battle of Liberty Place monument, which commemorated not a Civil War clash, but a white supremacist-led insurrection during Reconstruction.

The remaining two monuments honor Gens. Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard, and like the Davis statue, they're in prominent spots. The Davis monument stood at the intersection of the parkway that bears his name and Canal Street. Lee's is in Lee Circle, and Beauregard's is at the entrance to City Park.

The inscription on the Davis statue reads, "His name is enshrined in the hearts of the people for whom he suffered, and his deeds are forever wedded to immortality." But Landrieu and his allies say the monument and others like it are holding New Orleans back by celebrating the "cult of the Lost Cause," referring to the Confederacy's deadly and doomed fight against the Union.

From the mayor's statement released Thursday:

"These monuments have stood not as historic or educational markers of our legacy of slavery and segregation, but in celebration of it. I believe we must remember all of our history, but we need not revere it. To literally put the Confederacy on a pedestal in some of our most prominent public places is not only an inaccurate reflection of our past, it is an affront to our present, and a bad prescription for our future. We should not be afraid to confront and reconcile our past."

Those who want the monuments to remain include the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which has urged its members and supporters to hold vigils at the statues to prevent their removal. Earlier this month, the group's chaplain urged members to write their state legislators in support of a bill that forbids removing Confederate monuments, saying a "war on Southern heritage is raging."

Other backers of keeping the monuments include two Louisiana historic preservation groups and the Monumental Task Committee, a nonprofit that says its volunteers have "taken care of ALL New Orleans monuments for over 25 years."

Landrieu aired his plan to remove the four Confederate monuments a week after the Charleston church massacre of 2015, when nine black worshippers were killed by a white gunman who had displayed a Confederate-era flag.

As WWNO reports, the mayor's plan calls for the monuments to be put in museums.</s>(UPI) — New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu on Thursday said workers removed a statute of Confederate icon Jefferson Davis from Mid-City as part of a “march to reconciliation.”

Landrieu said the city began removing statues erected to honor the Confederacy in late April. In December, the New Orleans City Council declared four monuments nuisances and the Jefferson Davis statue commemorating the former Confederate president is the second to be removed.

“This morning we continue our march to reconciliation by removing the Jefferson Davis Confederate statue from its pedestal of reverence,” Landrieu said in a statement on Thursday. “This historic moment is an opportunity to join together as one city and redefine our future.”

The city removed the Battle of Liberty Place monument three weeks ago, which was erected by a white supremacist group to commemorate a deadly insurrection against New Orleans’ racially integrated police department and government in 1874.

Statutes of Gen. Robert E. Lee, who commanded the Confederacy during the Civil War, and of Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard will be the next removed, The Times-Picayune reported.

“Three weeks ago, we began a challenging but long overdue process of removing four statues that honor the ‘Lost Cause of the Confederacy.’ Today we continue the mission,” Landrieu said in a statement. “These monuments have stood not as historic or educational markers of our legacy of slavery and segregation, but in celebration of it. I believe we must remember all of our history, but we need not revere it. To literally put the Confederacy on a pedestal in some of our most prominent public places is not only an inaccurate reflection of our past, it is an affront to our present, and a bad prescription for our future. We should not be afraid to confront and reconcile our past.”

The removal of the statues has been a contentious topic in New Orleans, as groups for and against the move have taken to the streets in protest.</s>Statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis comes down in New Orleans Dozens of vocal opponents and proponents of Confederate-era monuments gathered amid a large police presence Check out this story on AlamogordoNews.com: https://usat.ly/2pAkyjp NEW ORLEANS - Massive cranes and work trucks were put into position early Thursday morning as the city removed the monument to former Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Masked crews were being used to protect the identity of those involved.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Alamogordo Daily News.</s>Workers in New Orleans dismantled the city's Jefferson Davis monument early Thursday, removing a prominent statue of the Confederate leader that had stood for more than 100 years.

"This historic moment is an opportunity to join together as one city and redefine our future," Mayor Mitch Landrieu said Thursday, announcing that crews had begun removing the statue, the second of four planned removals of four Confederacy-related monuments.

Legal fights over the statues have slowed the removal of the monuments, but a federal appeals court said the city could remove them back in March. The New Orleans City Council endorsed the plan in December of 2015, as member station WWNO has reported.

The first to go was the Battle of Liberty Place monument, which commemorated not a Civil War event but a white supremacist-led insurrection during Reconstruction. The remaining two monuments honor generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard.

The inscription on the Davis statue reads, "His name is enshrined in the hearts of the people for whom he suffered, and his deeds are forever wedded to immortality." But Landrieu and his allies say the monument and others like it are holding New Orleans back, by celebrating the "Cult of the Lost Cause," referring to the Confederacy's deadly and doomed fight against the Union.

"These monuments have stood not as historic or educational markers of our legacy of slavery and segregation, but in celebration of it. I believe we must remember all of our history, but we need not revere it. To literally put the Confederacy on a pedestal in some of our most prominent public places is not only an inaccurate reflection of our past, it is an affront to our present, and a bad prescription for our future. We should not be afraid to confront and reconcile our past."



Those who want the monuments to remain include the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which has urged its members and supporters to hold vigils at the statues to prevent their removal. Earlier this month, the group's chaplain urged members to write their state legislators in support of a bill that forbids removing Confederate monuments, saying a "war on Southern heritage is raging."</s>NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Workers have removed the statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in New Orleans, the second of four Confederate monuments slated for removal.

As the statue was lifted from its perch on a grassy median along one of the city’s main thoroughfares, a cheer went up from some of the dozens of protesters on the scene who have been pushing for the monument’s removal.

It was then lowered behind trucks encircled around the monument’s base and out of view of media gathered on the scene.

Officials had refused to give advance public notice of Thursday morning’s removal, citing threats of violence against contractors and workers involved in the effort. The Davis statue has been the scene of protests by supporters and opponents of the monuments’ removal.

Late last month, the first monument – a 35-foot-tall granite obelisk – was removed by masked workers under cover of darkness. The obelisk was a tribute to whites who battled a biracial Reconstruction government installed in New Orleans after the Civil War.

Also slated for removal are statues of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T Beauregard.

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Find 8News on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram; send your news tips to iReport8@wric.com.</s>The Jefferson Davis monument on Canal St. is seen just behind a crane preparing to take the statue down. (FOX 8)

Crews prepare to take down the Jefferson Davis monument in New Orleans. (FOX 8)

Jefferson Monument being taken down by city

A crane moved down Canal St. near the Jefferson Davis monument around 3 a.m. on Thursday as it appeared the statue would be taken down.

Workers wrapped the statue in bubble wrap before moving it. The process was completed shortly after 5 a.m. Protesters almost immediately dispersed after the statue was loaded onto a truck.

Police barricaded off the area near the monument as officers pushed protesters to the opposite side of the street.

Monument supporters and anti-monument protesters faced off just feet away from each other separated by barricades.

The Regional Transit Authority said the streetcar line on Canal St. near Jefferson Davis Parkway will be blocked off until approximately 9 a.m.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu said on Wednesday the city had cleared all legal hurdles and the statues would continue to come down. P.G.T Beauregard was at the center of a legal dispute involving whether it was located on New Orleans City Park property. A judge ruled in favor of the city.

“Three weeks ago, we began a challenging but long overdue process of removing four statues that honor the ‘Lost Cause of the Confederacy.’ Today we continue the mission,” Landrieu said. “These monuments have stood not as historic or educational markers of our legacy of slavery and segregation, but in celebration of it. I believe we must remember all of our history, but we need not revere it."

Landrieu also said putting the Confederacy on a pedestal in some of the city's most prominent places is "not only an inaccurate reflection of our past, it is an affront to our present."

The Jefferson Davis statue on Jefferson Davis Parkway, was erected in 1911 in honor of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. It was commissioned by the Jefferson Davis Memorial Association.

The Robert E. Lee statue at Lee Circle on St. Charles Ave. is the other Confederate-area monument still standing.

The Liberty Place monument in the CBD was removed several weeks ago.</s>The city of New Orleans—site of contention over the removal of symbols of the Confederacy—has taken down a statue of Jefferson Davis, early Thursday morning.

Masked crews worked in the dark Thursday to remove the monument to the former Confederate president, which had been up for 106 years, reports WWL-4 New Orleans.

The Jefferson Davis Memorial, erected in 1911, is the second of four monuments slated to come down. Crews showed up shortly after 3 a.m. and the actual removal of the statue was done shortly after 5 a.m. as a sling and bubble wrap were put around the statue before it was hoisted in the air and laid down on the bed of a truck. The crews’ faces were covered to protect their identity.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has been unapologetic in his view that the statues must come down if the city is truly to be a place of equality for all of its citizens.

“This morning we continue our march to reconciliation by removing the Jefferson Davis Confederate statue from its pedestal of reverence,” tweeted Mayor Landrieu before the statue’s removal.

Afterward, Landrieu tweeted, “This historic moment is an opportunity to join together as one city and redefine our future. #Nola”

The statue had to be removed in darkness because many virulent supporters of the Confederacy—waving Confederate flags of course—were there to protest its removal.

The city began the process to remove the monuments late in 2015, but court challenges tied up the move until recently.

The last two to fall will be the P.G.T. Beauregard monument and that of Robert E. Lee at the city’s iconic Lee Circle.</s>NEW ORLEANS — As police stood between two opposing crowds, a crew lifted a statute of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis from its pedestal before dawn Thursday in New Orleans — the latest in a contentious plan to dismantle four Confederate monuments in the city.

It’s the second Confederate monument to come down after the New Orleans city council voted to remove the four landmarks back in 2015. After years of heated public debate and legal battles, recent court decisions paved the way for the city to relocate the four monuments.

Dozens of people — a crowd of monument supporters, and a crowd supporting its removal — gathered at the Davis statue early Thursday before it was removed, at times screaming insults and threats at each other. Police separated the sides with barriers.

As the statue was lifted shortly after 5 a.m., those who wanted it removed cheered, and sang the chorus from “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.” One person held a sign that read, “Bout Time.” The monument’s supporters at that point watched mostly in silence, some holding up Confederate banners.

Earlier, some monument supporters chanted, “President Davis;” one man saluted the statue.

It wasn’t immediately clear how long it would take workers to remove the pedestal.

The statues in New Orleans are part of a controversy surrounding Confederate symbols, which some say represent slavery and racial injustice. Supporters say they represent history and heritage. The issue became especially prominent after the massacre of nine black parishioners in a Charleston, South Carolina, church by a self-described white supremacist in 2015.

“These monuments have stood not as historic or educational markers of our legacy of slavery and segregation, but in celebration of it,” said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu in a statement.

“To literally put the Confederacy on a pedestal in some of our most prominent public places is not only an inaccurate reflection of our past, it is an affront to our present, and a bad prescription for our future. We should not be afraid to confront and reconcile our past.”

The Davis statue stood on top of a roughly 12-foot column, and depicted the Confederate president with his right arm outstretched, towering over the street also named after him.

Davis lived in New Orleans after the Civil War and died there in 1889. The statue was dedicated in 1911.

In 2004, the words “slave owner” were painted on the base of the monument.

How they extracted the statue

Police had cordoned off the 6-foot tall bronze statue of Davis with a chain-link fence to keep protesters out.

Workers wore helmets as well as what appeared to be tactical vests and face masks. Cardboard and tape covered contractors’ names on equipment involved in the controversial operation — the same methods used during the first Confederate landmark removal on April 24.

Around 4 a.m., two workers approached the Davis statue in a work lift and wrapped part of it in green plastic.

They tied the statue’s torso with yellow straps, securing it to a crane. One worker dislodged the statue’s base from the column using a long flat tool.

Two more statues scheduled for removal

Last month, the city dismantled the first of its four monuments scheduled for removal — an obelisk commemorating the Battle of Liberty Place. The monument marked a deadly fight between members of the “Crescent City White League,” a group opposed to the city’s biracial police force, and state militia after the Civil War.

The remaining two monuments — those of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard — are also scheduled for relocation.

Landrieu’s office has not revealed when the two remaining statues will come down.

The mayor’s office said the city has secured private funding to remove the moments. Landrieu said the statues will be put in storage while the city looks for a suitable place to display them, such as a museum.</s>In the early hours of 11 May 2017, a statue of Jefferson Davis (the president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War) was removed in New Orleans, the second Confederate monument to be uninstalled in the city.

Crowds both in opposition to and in support of the monument to Jefferson Davis were present when work crews appeared at around 3 A.M., NBC News reported:

Due to the risk of repercussions, crews wearing masks and protective helmets arrived in the dead of night with no warning or announcement, and the company name on their truck had been blacked out. The monument was protected in bubble wrap, attached to a crane and lifted off its plinth. A large cheer erupted when the statue was finally lifted into the air. The term “Jefferson Davis” was also the top-trending term across the U.S. on Thursday morning.

A local news outlet reported that crowds had stood in support of the Jefferson Davis statue, as well as another confederate monument, for weeks:

The city also did not announce either statues’ removal. In a statement, the city said it does not plan to announce removal plans or a timeline for the two remaining monuments — P.G.T. Beauregard at the entrance to City Park and Robert E. Lee at Lee Circle — due to the “widely known intimidation, threats, and violence.” … Monument supporters — who have camped at the site for the last two weeks — waved Confederate flags across the street from the statue. Supporters and opponents were separated by barricades, similar to how NOPD organized protesters at Lee Circle on May 7.

The debate was so contentious that another monument, which had been installed to honor the anti-integration Crescent City White League, had to be removed in the dead of night “by crews wearing masks and body armor,” according to reports.

In an 11 May 2017 statement about the removals, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said:

Three weeks ago, we began a challenging but long overdue process of removing four statues that honor the ‘Lost Cause of the Confederacy.’ Today we continue the mission. These monuments have stood not as historic or educational markers of our legacy of slavery and segregation, but in celebration of it. I believe we must remember all of our history, but we need not revere it. To literally put the Confederacy on a pedestal in some of our most prominent public places is not only an inaccurate reflection of our past, it is an affront to our present, and a bad prescription for our future. We should not be afraid to confront and reconcile our past.

The City remains secretive about plans to address remaining monuments.</s>Workers Thursday morning removed the statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in New Orleans, the second of four Confederate monuments slated for removal in a contentious, months-long process that has sparked protests on both sides.

As the statue was lifted from its perch on a grassy median along one of the city's main thoroughfares, a cheer went up from some of the dozens of protesters on the scene who have been pushing for the monument's removal. It was then lowered behind trucks encircled around the monument's base and out of view of media gathered on the scene.

Removal of the statue — a larger-than-life image of Davis atop an ornate granite pedestal roughly 15-feet high — follows recent protests at the site by supporters and opponents of the monuments. City officials had refused to give advance public notice of the work because of threats of violence against contractors and workers involved in the effort. The statue was first unveiled in 1911.

Dozens of protesters both supporting the monuments and calling for their removal stayed up overnight to watch the proceedings which happened in early-morning darkness. The demonstrators were separated by metal barriers set up by the police and heckled each other from opposite sides of the barricade. About fifty police officers encircled the monument and kept watch on the protesters.

As preparation for removing the Davis statue, workers had wrapped the torso in a green wrapping and then placed a harness attached to a crane around the statue.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who first urged the City Council to remove the monuments in 2015, praised the effort in a news release.

"These monuments have stood not as historic or educational markers of our legacy of slavery and segregation, but in celebration of it. I believe we must remember all of our history, but we need not revere it. To literally put the Confederacy on a pedestal in some of our most prominent public places is not only an inaccurate reflection of our past, it is an affront to our present, and a bad prescription for our future. We should not be afraid to confront and reconcile our past."

Late last month, the first structure — a 35-foot-tall granite obelisk known as the Liberty Place monument — was removed by masked workers under cover of darkness. The obelisk was a tribute to whites who battled a biracial Reconstruction government installed in New Orleans after the Civil War.

Also slated for removal are a bronze statue of Confederate Gen. P.G.T Beauregard on horseback, completed in 1915, which sits atop a stone platform at the entrance to the city's largest park and museum of art; and a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee. The Lee statue is the most prominent of the four. Unveiled in 1884, the likeness of Lee stands atop a 60-foot-tall column in the center of a traffic circle on historic St. Charles Avenue. Monument supporters say each of the statues weighs tons and they feared moving the aging icons could result in significant damage.

The council voted to remove the monuments in 2015 — part of the national response after nine black parishioners were shot to death by an avowed racist at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, earlier that year. But the process of removing the statues was tied up for months in a court battle.

New Orleans is a predominantly black city of nearly 390,000. The statues were erected well before the civil rights era that brought African-Americans to political power. The City Council, now majority black, voted 6-1 to take the monuments down.

Landrieu, a white Democrat, was elected in 2010 and re-elected four years late with strong biracial support.
The New Orleans City Council removes the statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in New Orleans. This action is the second of four planned removals of Confederate monuments in the city.