DECATUR, Ga. (AP) - Commissioners in an Atlanta-area city have voted in favor of a resolution that supports removing a cannon from a city square that honors the Creek War of 1836, which saw the removal of Native Americans from the South.
Monday’s vote came after high school students in Decatur called for the removal of the monument near the old DeKalb County courthouse, saying it was a symbol of oppression. They told city commissioners Monday the cannon should be removed because it has ties to the forced removal of Native Americans.
“We have a hard time with those cannons sticking up there. Some of us are still afraid,” said John Winterhawk of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation during the hearing. Relics like the cannon are reminders that “we are an oppressed people,” he added.
All of Decatur’s four city commissioners voted in favor of the resolution. Decatur Mayor Patti Garret was not at the meeting.
Since the monument is located on DeKalb County’s property, county officials will ultimately get to decide if its removed, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported. Decatur Mayor Pro Tem Tony Powers told Decatur High School students to keep up the pressure. “The fight is not over,” he said.
The monument was placed at the property by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1906. The group had also installed a Confederate monument located a few feet away from the cannon.
That monument was removed in June following an order by a Georgia judge. The city had asked the judge to order the removal of the 30-foot (9-meter) obelisk, which was often vandalized and marked by graffiti, saying it had become a threat to public safety.
There was also pushback against Monday’s vote by those who said the cannon was a proper reminder of the town’s history. Decatur Commissioner Kelly Walsh acknowledged the historical importance of the monument, but said she would get rid of it to make the city more inclusive.
“If I’m given a choice between people and things, I choose people,” she said.
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