Landrieu's Statue Removal: Lawful Or Not?

Mitch Landrieu, the former mayor of New Orleans, faced a wave of opposition when he removed four Confederate monuments in the city. The statues honoured Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard, and the White League, a Reconstruction-era group of racial militants. While some argued that the monuments represented an important part of the state's identity and culture, Landrieu and civil rights advocates believed they distorted history and celebrated white supremacy. Despite legal challenges, harassment, and death threats, Landrieu successfully removed the statues, delivering a powerful speech about racial reconciliation and confronting the past. So, did he break the law? Not according to the 13 federal and state judges who reviewed the case.

Mitch Landrieu's role as New Orleans mayor

Mitch Landrieu was elected mayor of New Orleans in 2010. In June 2015, a year into his second term, nine members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, were killed by a white supremacist. In response, Landrieu took the controversial decision to remove four Confederate monuments in New Orleans: statues of Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard, and a monument dedicated to those who opposed Reconstruction.

Civil rights advocates had long called for the removal of New Orleans' Confederate monuments, but Landrieu was the first elected official to take on the issue directly. The move was met with fierce opposition, with impassioned constituents arguing that the statues represented an important part of the state's identity and culture. Defenders of the monuments tried every possible legal channel to halt their removal, and Confederate sympathizers from around the country sent threats to the contractors who signed up for the removal.

In his book, *In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History*, Landrieu reflects on his previous lack of awareness of the monuments' significance:

> "To be honest, I didn’t fully understand their connection to today’s protests. I didn’t know my own history."

However, after learning about the true history of the statues, Landrieu felt that there was only one path forward:

> "It starts with telling the truth about the past. [...] making straight what was crooked, making right what was wrong."

In May 2017, the fourth and final statue was removed. Landrieu delivered a powerful speech reflecting on the history of slavery and brutality that underpinned the monuments, appealing to the public conscience to reckon truthfully with America's enduring legacy of racism.

Despite the challenges and opposition, Landrieu's actions as mayor of New Orleans demonstrated his commitment to addressing racial injustice and creating an environment where all residents felt equally represented.

The four Confederate statues removed

In 2017, Mitch Landrieu, the mayor of New Orleans, gave a speech about the removal of four Confederate statues in the city. The statues honoured Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and P.G.T. Beauregard, and one was dedicated to those who opposed Reconstruction.

The statues were installed by supporters of the "Cult of the Lost Cause", a movement with the goal of rewriting history to hide the truth that the Confederacy was on the wrong side of humanity. The statues were erected 166 years after the founding of New Orleans and 19 years after the end of the Civil War.

Landrieu argued that the statues were not just innocent remembrances of history but were part of a deliberate attempt to rebrand the city's history and ideals, ignoring the death, enslavement, and terror that the Confederacy stood for. He emphasised that the Confederacy fought against the United States and that their cause was to maintain slavery and white supremacy.

The removal of the statues was met with fierce opposition, and contractors involved in the process received death threats. However, Landrieu's speech highlighted that the decision to remove the statues was about showing that the city and its people could acknowledge and understand their history, reconcile, and choose a better future.

The history of the Confederate statues

The History of Confederate Statues

There are roughly 700 Confederate monuments in the United States, spread across 31 states and the District of Columbia. These monuments are not just remnants of the past but symbols of a continuous struggle against racial injustice. The majority of these monuments were erected decades after the Civil War, during periods when Black Americans' civil rights were under attack.

The construction of Confederate statues can be traced to the early 1900s, a time when Southern states enacted laws to disenfranchise Black Americans and entrench segregation. The United Daughters of the Confederacy, a group founded in the 1890s, was a key driver of this trend. They sponsored hundreds of statues, promoting a sanitised version of the Confederacy that ignored its foundation on slavery and white supremacy.

The early 20th century saw over 400 Confederate monuments erected, with a particular concentration in the South. These statues were not merely memorials to fallen soldiers but symbols of white supremacy and intimidation. They were strategically placed in prominent locations, such as courthouse grounds, to serve as a reminder of racial subjugation and the struggle Black Americans faced in their fight for equal rights.

A second wave of statue-building occurred from the 1920s to the early 1940s, coinciding with a period of increased civil rights activism and a pushback against widespread lynchings in the South. This wave further solidified the connection between Confederate monuments and white supremacy.

In recent years, there has been a growing movement to remove Confederate statues, sparked by incidents such as the 2015 Charleston church shooting by a white supremacist. Cities like New Orleans, under the leadership of Mayor Mitch Landrieu, have taken bold steps to remove these monuments. Despite fierce opposition, Landrieu successfully removed four Confederate statues, including those of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis.

The removal of these statues is not about erasing history but about challenging the narrative that celebrates and glorifies the Confederacy. It is a recognition that these monuments represent a painful part of history that should not be revered. By taking them down, communities are reshaping their connection to the past and striving for a more inclusive future.

The process of removing the statues

The removal of the four Confederate statues in New Orleans was a lengthy and contentious process. The statues in question honoured Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard, as well as one dedicated to those who opposed Reconstruction.

The process began in 2015, after the massacre of nine Black parishioners at a South Carolina church by a white supremacist. The killer, Dylann Roof, was a racist who posed with Confederate battle flags. In response, Mitch Landrieu, the mayor of New Orleans, proposed removing the four Confederate monuments. This proposal was met with fierce opposition and legal challenges from those who argued that the statues represented an important part of the state's identity and culture. Confederate sympathisers and defenders of the monuments tried every legal avenue to prevent their removal.

Despite the opposition, the city council voted 6-1 in favour of the removal. The process was carried out with safety precautions, as contractors involved received multiple death threats, and one had his car firebombed. The first three statues were removed in the early morning hours without advance public notice to ensure the safety of the workers and due to proximity to electrical wires and streetcar lines. The final statue of Robert E. Lee was removed during the day, and the crowd cheered as the statue was lifted by a crane from its 60-foot pedestal.

The removal of the statues was a significant moment for the city, acknowledging the painful history of slavery and racism and choosing to move towards a better future. Mayor Landrieu addressed the removal in a speech, emphasising that it was not about erasing history but about choosing to honour different values and a more inclusive society.

The impact of the removals

The removal of the four Confederate statues in New Orleans was met with a fierce and impassioned response. Mitch Landrieu, the mayor of New Orleans, faced strong opposition from those who argued that the statues represented an important part of the state's identity and culture. The contractors who signed up to remove the statues received multiple death threats, and one had his car firebombed.

The removals sparked discussions in other communities across the country and placed Landrieu in a position where he alone could tell the story of why and how these monuments were removed. The removals also sent a message to the next generation of New Orleanians about the future and set the tone for the next 300 years.

Landrieu's actions and speech during the removal of the statues demonstrated his commitment to addressing racial injustice and creating an environment where all citizens feel equally represented. He acknowledged the complicated history surrounding the Civil War and slavery and took steps to confront and rectify the past wrongs.

The removal of the Confederate statues in New Orleans was a significant step towards reconciliation and healing, and it set a precedent for other communities grappling with similar issues. It showed that New Orleans, as a city and its people, was able to acknowledge, understand, and reconcile its past, choosing a better future for itself.

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