The University of Texas has removed statues of Robert E. Lee and other prominent Confederate figures from the main area of campus in Austin, reports Time.
University of Texas President Greg Fenves said such monuments have become “symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism,” according to Time, and announced late Sunday night that the statues would be removed. Work crews began the work soon after. By Monday morning, university spokesman J.B. Bird said all the statues were now removed.
The statues will be moved to the Briscoe Center for American History on campus. Besides the statue of Lee, statues of Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston and Confederate Postmaster General John H. Reagan were also removed.
This is the latest in the debate over public memorials for Confederate figures, which came to national attention last week after white supremacists and neo-Nazis marched through Charlottesville, Va. to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. The march turned deadly when a car crashed into counter-protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
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