The City of Birmingham and its mayor are being sued by the state for allegedly violating an Alabama law that protects historic monuments. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed a lawsuit today after Birmingham Mayor William Bell ordered the construction of a plywood barrier to obscure a Confederate monument in a city park.
Alabama law prohibits the removal, alteration or relocation, of any monument on public property that’s been in place for more than 40 years. The Confederate statue in question was dedicated in 1905. Marshall says the barrier has ‘altered’ or ‘otherwise disturbed’ the memorial in violation of the law.
Bell’s move came after city officials urged him to remove the monument calling it offensive to city residents, the majority of which are African American.