SALISBURY, N.C. (AP) - A Confederate monument that has stood for over 100 years old was removed from a North Carolina city after officials said the statute had become a public safety hazard.
The “Fame” Confederate monument in Salisbury was taken down Monday night and placed in storage, until it could be moved to the Old Lutheran Cemetery, news outlets reported.
Salisbury City Council unanimously voted to remove the statue, calling it a “flashpoint” that has caused rift and unrest in the community.
The council also unanimously voted to allow the United Daughters of the Confederacy to relocate the statue.
The Fame statue was built in 1909 and displays an angel holding a Confederate solider. A nearly identical statue in Baltimore, the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument, was removed in 2017.
Calls to bring down Confederate monuments have intensified since the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which sparked national protests.
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