In a unanimous vote, Columbus City Council yielded a piece of land at Friendship Cemetery Tuesday night to Lowndes County for the relocation of the Confederate monument outside the county courthouse.
The Tuesday vote came one day after county supervisors voted unanimously to move the statue, which has remained in its place for more than 100 years, to the cemetery contingent upon city agreement. The consensus among supervisors marked a victory for protesters who gathered outside the courthouse for weeks to call for the monument’s removal and an end to systemic racism against the Black community.
The monument, erected in 1912 to honor soldiers who fought for the South during the Civil War, deemed the war a “noble cause.” State law forbids the removal of war monuments from public property, but allows a governing body to move them to a more “suitable” location within its jurisdiction, which means the county needs to own part of the city-owned cemetery to move the monument there.
To facilitate the relocation of the monument, City Attorney Jeff Turnage said Tuesday night the city identified a piece of land at Friendship Cemetery and marked it at $1 for sale to the county. The parcel, which totals more than 1,700 square feet, will be located near the Confederate section of the cemetery, he said.
During the meeting, Turnage reached into his wallet, drew a $1 bill and donated the money on behalf of the county so that the sale would be completed.
“We don’t have to worry about it collected,” he told The Dispatch.
Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box said he’s worried the monument would be placed upon unmarked Union soldier graves at the cemetery. Mayor Robert Smith assured Box that he knows of no graves at the suggested parcel.
Following the sale, the city and the county must submit a detailed plan to move the monument to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) for final approval. Smith had previously voiced his willingness to split the cost of the relocation with the county, but the council has yet to discuss the possibility.
Key Blair, general manager of Columbus Marble Works, told The Dispatch the estimated cost could be roughly $100,000.
Conflict disclosure: Managing Editor Zack Plair took part in editing this article. He is currently involved in legal proceedings with the city of Columbus.
Yue Stella Yu was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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