Following last week's race-motivated shooting of nine people in a Charleston, S.C., church, people all over the south are calling into question the continued use of the Confederate flag and other symbols associated with the country's racist history. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, during a meeting on racial reconciliation today as part of an initiative called Welcome Table New Orleans, said that it's time to start talking about what could replace the Robert E. Lee statue at Lee Circle. After the gathering, Landrieu tweeted: "Symbols matter - must ask if prominent city symbols reflect who we are today or if they ever really reflected who we were."
According to NOLA.com, the mayor's office would also like to consider removing other historical monuments in the city, including the Jefferson Davis monument in Mid-City and other symbols of the Confederacy. From the article:
"These symbols say who we were in a particular time, but times change. Yet these symbols -- statues, monuments, street names, and more -- still influence who we are and how we are perceived by the world," a spokesman said in a statement. "Mayor Landrieu believes it is time to look at the symbols in this city to see if they still have relevance to our future." Before the Mayor's announcement, a conversation of what should replace the Robert E. Lee statue started to build on Twitter. My personal favorite suggestion? Harry Lee Circle.
· New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu calls for removal of Lee Circle statue [NOLA.com]
· 13 New Orleans-Area Military Monuments and Memorials [Curbed NOLA]
· What should replace Lee Circle? [Gambit]