Confederate Statues in Memphis Removed After City Votes to Sell Parks

A statue of Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest is removed from a park in Memphis, after a unanimous vote by the City Council to calling for the removal of Confederate monuments in the city. Brandon Dill for The New York Times

Crews removed two Confederate statues from two Memphis parks late Wednesday after the city sold them to a private entity. 

The City Council voted unanimously earlier in the day to sell both Health Sciences and Fourth Bluff Parks where the Confederate statues were located.

Moments ago, I signed the ordinance that completed our sale of the parks. pic.twitter.com/LZH00Pa6cv

— Mayor Jim Strickland (@MayorMemphis) December 21, 2017

Mayor Jim Strickland confirmed on Twitter that both Health Sciences and Fourth Bluff Parks “have been sold. Operations on those sites tonight are being conducted by a private entity and are compliant with state law.”

Within minutes of the vote Wednesday night, a heavy police presence was seen near the Health Sciences Park — where a statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate Army general, is located.

The other statue, of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, was located at Fourth Bluff Park.

Council member Janis Fullilove told the newspaper it was a “crazy, crazy, crazy night.”

“It’s really going down in history that this is the night they are going to take the statues down,” Fullilove said. “It’s a historic moment.”

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SOURCE: Fox News, Nicole Darrah