BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) - A statewide group is calling for the repair and restoration of a Confederate monument that was removed from the courthouse lawn in Bradenton.
Save Southern Heritage and other groups held a news conference Tuesday to demand that the Manatee County Commission put the 93-year-old monument back on its pedestal in downtown Bradenton.
The county commission removed the monument Aug. 24, following an Aug. 21 protest that drew several hundred people who demanded its removal. The monument, an obelisk engraved with the names of Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee, was damaged during the removal.
This is the latest skirmish over Confederate monuments in Florida.
Critics have called such monuments symbols of white supremacy and racism. Supporters of such monuments say they are reminders of Southern heritage.
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