Iberville Parish Confederate Monument

The Iberville Parish Confederate Monument, located twenty miles south of the capital city of Baton Rouge on Railroad Avenue near the old courthouse in Plaquemine, Louisiana, is among many such monuments across the United States under fire by politically correct liberals who claim the statues honor "slavery and "racism."

The majority-white Iberville Parish Council, which consists of twelve Democrats and one "No Party" member, voted unanimously to remove the monument. Council member Raheem T. Pierce, an African-American who was still in high school when campaigning for the post, declared the monument a symbol of "racism, hatred and bigotry, oppression, and depression." The monument will be placed "in storage," location not specified. Pierce is also seeking to remove plaques near the courthouse recognizing plantation owners from the area, east of the capital city of Baton Rouge.[1]

The Iberville decision was followed by a demand from attorney Todd Clemons in Lake Charles to remove the Calcasieu Parish Confederate Monument from the courthouse lawn. Attorney Clemons said that the moument "still has a very chilling effect" on blacks entering the courthouse. Clemons said that he does not "expect much opposition, I think everybody realizes the time has come. We all have to realize how much the world has changed in the last four weeks" since nationwide rioting and looting resulted after the George Floyd case in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Fourteenth District Court Judge Ronald "Ron" Ware, an African-American Democrat, also endorsed the removal of the monument.[2]

On June 23, 2020, the politically correct Alexandria City Council (consisting of five black Democrats, one white Democrat, and one white Republican) voted to remove the Confederate statue from the lawn of the Rapides Parish Courthouse. The issue over ownership of the monument now proceeds to the United States District Court in Alexandria.[3]

A Confederate soldier statues was also removed in Homer in Claiborne Parish in North Louisiana.[4] Not long after the police jury voted unanimously to remove the monument, the structure was vandalized with graffiti. Despite the heavily African American majority in Homer, only three of the ten police jurors are blacks, two Democrats and one Independent. The other seven jurors are whites, either Independents or "No Party" designation. Not one of the ten jurors is a Republican.

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Lea Skene (June 16, 2020). Iberville Parish Council votes unanimously to remove Confederate statue outside old courthouse. The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved on June 18, 2020.
2. ↑ Jeff Palermo (June 17, 2020). Lake Charles attorney and judge call for the removal of a Confederate monument on the lawn of the courthouse. Louisiana Radio Network. Retrieved on June 18, 2020.
3. ↑ Melissa Gregory (June 23, 2020). Issue of Confederate monument at Rapides Courthouse headed to court. The Alexandria Town Talk. Retrieved on June 24, 2020.
4. ↑ P. K. Cannon (June 18, 2020). CPPJ votes unanimously to take down Confederate statue. KTBS-TV (ABC in Shreveport). Retrieved on June 27, 2020.

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