The U.S. Army has reportedly decided it will move forward with the removal of a Confederate memorial, despite the fact that dozens of Republican lawmakers cautioned against it.
The Army says it will start next week on the removal of the memorial from the Arlington National Cemetery, according to the Washington Post.
"A woman representing the American South, standing atop a 32-foot pedestal, lords above most other monuments within America’s most revered resting place," it reported. "It portrays, according to the cemetery’s website, a 'mythologized vision of the Confederacy, including highly sanitized depictions of slavery.'"
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The Army was planning to remove the memorial as part of its ongoing efforts to rid itself of "rebel imagery," according to the Washington Post. But Republicans then stepped in.
"This month, 44 Republican lawmakers cautioned Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the first African American to hold the post, that the Pentagon would overstep its authority by removing the memorial and they demanded that all efforts to do so stop until Congress works through next year’s appropriations bill," the Saturday article states. "The memorial 'commemorates reconciliation and national unity,' not the Confederacy per se, the group led by Rep. Andrew S. Clyde (Ga.) claimed."
Apparently, that wasn't enough to disrupt the Army's plans.
"The Army, which operates Arlington Cemetery, informed lawmakers Friday that it would proceed with the monument’s removal, officials told The Washington Post, because it was required by the end of the year to comply with a law to identify and remove assets that commemorate the Confederacy," according to the article. "A congressional commission had previously decided the memorial met the criteria for removal. The task will cost $3 million."
You can read the full article from the Washington Post right here.
