Confederate Statue To Be Removed From Historic Oakland Cemetery

ATLANTA, GA — One of the Confederate monuments in Atlanta's historic Oakland Cemetery will be removed after an Atlanta City Council vote Monday.

Council members passed a resolution Monday night declaring that the city should remove the Lion of the Confederacy statue — which has been vandalized multiple times in the past — and place it in temporary storage, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The 127-year-old Lion of the Confederacy statue, built by T.M. Brady and dedicated on Confederate Memorial Day in 1894, was erected to honor the 3,000 unknown Confederate soldiers buried at the cemetery. The lion overlooks the graves.

Oakland Cemetery — the final resting place of more than 70,000 residents, including famous Atlantans, mayors, governors and more — is also home to a 65-foot Confederate obelisk, built in 1870.

Georgia law includes a statute that can make it difficult for local governments to remove a Confederate monument, because it is considered unlawful to damage, relocate or remove a monument dedicated to the United States or the Confederacy; however, the Georgia General Assembly adopted updates to the law last year that allows for "appropriate measures for the preservation, protection and interpretation of such [a] monument or memorial."

Local governments throughout metro Atlanta have removed Confederate monuments over the last two years despite the legal difficulty, including in Decatur and Gwinnett County.

Council approved a $33,000 contract with Superior Rigging and Erecting Co. to remove the lion statue. The city has not said where it will be located long-term, and did not say when the statue removal would take place.

Related:

• Decatur's Confederate Monument Removed Near Atlanta
• Controversial Confederate Monument Finds New Home In Storage Unit