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Lafayette City Council unanimously votes to support Guillory's plan to remove statue

Posted at 5:50 PM, Jul 22, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-22 18:50:42-04

In an overnight decision by the Lafayette City Council, members voted in support of Mayor-President Josh Guillory's decision to try to move the General Alfred Mouton statue downtown.

The unanimous decision was made after several community members waited hours to voice their concerns about the statue.
Many said the statue has a detrimental affect on those living in the city.

Every person who stayed for comment was unopposed to the resolution.

Guillory said, "We're making history right. Maybe now we can teach history appropriately. To my fellow white Republicans, fear not this change, for this change is healthy. This is a community who is healing. There's a difference between putting up a statue and teaching history."

Move the Mindset, a local nonprofit that has worked for several years to remove the statue, released comments on Wednesday, with President Frederick Prejean saying, "No one owns the truth but everyone has the responsibility to acknowledge and accept it. Though we live in the here and now, the past is not a bygone conclusion. It is a doorway to a moral universe of inspiration, aspiration and reconciliation. It is a motivational tool that can be used to correct the immoral deeds of our ancestors."

The meeting was live streamed - you can watch the statue discussion at the end of THIS video and at the beginning of THIS video.

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