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Greg Fenves, the President of the University of Texas President Greg Fenves, has ordered the removal of statues of General Robert E. Lee and other prominent Confederate figures from the University’s main Austin campus.
On Sunday night, Fenves released a statement saying such monuments have become “symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism”‘ The university moved a statue of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis from its perch near the campus clock tower to a history museum in 2015.
via NBC News:
Fenves announced the move late Sunday night as crews were in place to begin taking the statues down. The school also blocked off the area during the process, and the statues are expected to be gone by mid-morning Monday, a spokesman said.
Crews early Monday first removed a statue of former Texas Gov. James Stephen Hogg, which was commissioned at the same time as the others, a spokesman said. Hogg will get another place on campus.
Less than 30 people, both supporters, and opponents of Fenves’ order, congregated after midnight behind barricades near the statues. There was a heavy police presence and some arguments occurred between those gathered.
Fenves says statues of Lee, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, and Confederate Postmaster General John H. Reagan on campus must be removed.
The university expects to be finished moving the statues by Monday afternoon.
