PORT ALLEN, La. (BRPROUD) – The statue of confederate Louisiana Governor Henry Watkins Allen has caused a lot of controversies.
Allen is who the city of Port Allen is named after. Following a protest and a petition demanding the statue be removed, Wednesday the Port Allen city council unanimously passed a resolution supporting to move the statue to the West Baton Rouge Parish museum.
“We don’t want to tear down that statue, we want to put him in a place where he can be represented and the West Baton Rouge Museum is the place for that,” Richard Lee, Port Allen’s mayor said.
While some residents think the statue is part of history, others think it’s a symbol of division and is grateful for the vote.
“We definitely are moving in the right direction,” Clerice Lacey said.
“They want to talk about the good side of heritage of the Civil War well there’s an ugly side to it too and that needs to be dedicated and memorialized,” James Winters said.
The resolution does not mean the statue will be removed, that decision is ultimately up to the West Baton Rouge Parish Council.
The West Baton Rouge Parish Council is voting on this issue Thursday at 6 pm.