The Southern Poverty Law Center has issued a statement regarding the removal of the Mouton statue from downtown Lafayette.
SPLC is a legal advocacy group focused on civil rights and public interest litigation. The center conducted a study of Jim Crow-era confederate statutes, of which the Mouton statue was one. To read that study, click here.
In a release, the SLPC states that Mouton "helped train a local “Vigilante Committee” under the guise of fighting crime but actually administered their own brand of ‘justice,’ which included whippings, lynchings, and exiling Black residents who were deemed ‘undesirables.’"
“The Southern Poverty Law Center welcomes the removal of the statue to revisionist history of Confederate Gen. Alfred Mouton, which has served as a living symbol of white supremacy in front of the old City Hall in Lafayette for 99 years," said SLPC Chief of Staff Lecia Brooks.
“We applaud Move the Mindset and members of the Lafayette community who chose to embrace the city’s shared and diverse future by advocating for the removal of this symbol of hate for almost six years. Our public buildings, landmarks and institutions should not conceal the truth about our shared history and should not be used as a backdrop to glorify traitors to the United States.
“The SPLC remains committed to supporting community-based groups like Move the Mindset in removing these symbols from public space.”
