Crews Remove 115-Year-Old Birmingham Confederate Monument

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2020/01/IMG_4137-e1591183162314.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:4032;s:6:"height";i:2268;s:4:"file";s:35:"2020/01/IMG_4137-e1591183162314.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:12:{s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"IMG_4137-e1591183162314-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"IMG_4137-e1591183162314-336x189.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:189;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:12:"medium_large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"IMG_4137-e1591183162314-768x432.jpg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:432;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:5:"large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"IMG_4137-e1591183162314-771x434.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:434;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:33:"IMG_4137-e1591183162314-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"IMG_4137-e1591183162314-600x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"IMG_4137-e1591183162314-300x300.jpg";s:5:"width";i:300;s:6:"height";i:300;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"IMG_4137-e1591183162314-553x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:553;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"IMG_4137-e1591183162314-470x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"IMG_4137-e1591183162314-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"1536x1536";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:36:"IMG_4137-e1591183162314-1536x864.jpg";s:5:"width";i:1536;s:6:"height";i:864;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"2048x2048";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:37:"IMG_4137-e1591183162314-2048x1152.jpg";s:5:"width";i:2048;s:6:"height";i:1152;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:3:"1.8";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:9:"iPhone XR";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:10:"1578148296";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:4:"4.25";s:3:"iso";s:2:"25";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:19:"0.00093896713615023";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"1";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_edit_lock] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1578507215:113
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Miranda Fulmore
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] =>  WBHM
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_edit_last] => Array
        (
            [0] => 113
        )

    [_wp_attachment_backup_sizes] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:11:{s:9:"full-orig";a:3:{s:5:"width";i:4032;s:6:"height";i:3024;s:4:"file";s:12:"IMG_4137.jpg";}s:14:"thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_4137-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:11:"medium-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_4137-336x252.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:252;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:17:"medium_large-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_4137-768x576.jpg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:576;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:10:"large-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_4137-771x578.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:578;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"wbhm-icon-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:18:"IMG_4137-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_4137-600x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"wbhm-featured-square-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_4137-300x300.jpg";s:5:"width";i:300;s:6:"height";i:300;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:23:"wbhm-featured-home-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_4137-415x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:415;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:27:"wbhm-featured-carousel-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_4137-353x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:353;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:19:"post-thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"IMG_4137-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}
        )

)
1637521369 
1591078865

A day after unrest turned protests violent in downtown Birmingham, most of a Confederate monument was removed piece by piece Monday night. Removal of the monument in Birmingham’s Linn Park was a rallying cry for demonstrators Monday. Workers loaded the 115-year-old Confederate Sailors and Soldiers monument onto a flatbed truck.

Darrell McCalla,WBHM
Only the pedestal of the Confederate monument remained Tuesday morning.

Crews disassembled the obelisk through the night before pausing work early Tuesday morning. Mayor Randall Woodfin assured demonstrators Sunday night he would remove the monument by Tuesday. State law offers protection for historical monuments, and state Attorney General Steve Marshall vowed to sue the city over its removal.

“The Alabama Monuments Preservation Act provides a singular avenue for enforcement — the filing of a civil complaint in pursuit of a fine, which the Alabama Supreme Court has determined to be a one-time assessment of $25,000.  The Act authorizes no additional relief,” Marshall said in a statement Monday. “Should the City of Birmingham proceed with the removal of the monument in question, based upon multiple conversations I have had today, city leaders understand I will perform the duties assigned to me by the Act to pursue a new civil complaint against the City.”

Earlier in the day, civil rights leaders called for the monument’s removal. Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson said it represented hundreds of years of torment for African Americans.

“It used to be a sore. It’s cancer. It’s eating away at the community,” Tyson said. “We cannot grow, we cannot expand with this monster wings over us, choking us, and it’s got to leave.”

Bishop Calvin Woods of the Birmingham chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference urged protesters to find solace in faith. He called on white people, particularly white faith leaders, to speak out against injustices toward African Americans.

William Barnes, president and CEO of the Birmingham Urban League, called for the monument’s immediate removal.

“With the recent death of many of those across this nation, we say enough is enough,” he said. “We are done dying and we’re done being reminded. We’re done being reminded of the atrocities against African Americans.”

A GoFundMe page was established to help pay the city’s removal fines. Just before midnight Monday it raised more than $51,000.

Streets around Linn Park were blocked off during the monument’s removal. The city established a curfew beginning Monday night to last indefinitely.

 

Russia launched an experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, the U.S. says

Ukraine raised alarm suggesting Russia may have used an intercontinental ballistic missile to hit the city of Dnipro, but the U.S. National Security Council does not believe it was an ICBM.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdraws as Trump’s attorney general nominee

Allegations of sex trafficking and drug use had stirred controversy over Matt Gaetz's nomination as attorney general.

This year’s FAFSA is officially open. Early review says it’s ‘a piece of cake’

The FAFSA form is now open to students hoping to get help paying for college in the 2025-26 academic year. Students can expect a much smoother process compared to the last cycle.

He was stuck in a hospital for 8 months. How states can fail people with disabilities

In Georgia and other states, the federal government oversees the treatment of people with mental illness and developmental disabilities, because the states have been unable to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the subsequent Olmstead ruling.

Foreign nationals propel U.S. science. Visa limits under Trump could change that

The incoming Trump administration is likely to crack down on the H-1B visas used by tech companies and research institutions to hire top talent from other countries.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

More Front Page Coverage