The city of New Orleans will remove four monuments celebrating Confederacy figures following a months-long push initiated by Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
Councillors supported the vote to remove the statues, reported by the New Orleans Times-Picayune, in a 6-1 vote. The monuments include statues depicting Confederate president Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard. The city will also remove an obelisk dedicated to Battle of Liberty Place, a Reconstruction Era uprising largely led by former Confederate fighters.
“The time surely comes when [justice] must and will be heard,” Mayor Mitch Landrieu said at the council meeting. “The Confederacy, you see, was on the wrong side of history and humanity.”
The push to remove the statues began in June shortly after Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old from South Carolina, killed nine African-Americans at a Charleston church. Roof had taken photos celebrating the Confederate Flag. The shooting inspired campaigns to remove the Confederate flag and other Confederate relics from prominent places in the South.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Why We're Spending So Much Money Now
- The Fight to Free Evan Gershkovich
- Meet the 2024 Women of the Year
- John Kerry's Next Move
- The Quiet Work Trees Do for the Planet
- Breaker Sunny Choi Is Heading to Paris
- Column: The Internet Made Romantic Betrayal Even More Devastating
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Write to Justin Worland at justin.worland@time.com