A multiracial lawsuit demanding the removal of a Confederate monument in Iredell County, North Carolina, offers a historic family twist. One of the residents supporting the move is a descendant of Robert E. Lee. The Rev. Robert Wright "Rob" Lee IV of Statesville, a fourth great-nephew of the Confederacy's commanding general, is among a group of residents and organizations calling on Iredell .
By Ben Gibson | Statesville Record & Landmark
The battle over the Iredell County Confederate Memorial is in a new phase after a group of plaintiffs filed a lawsuit Tuesday demanding the county remove the statue.
In the press release, the group said the Iredell County Commissioners vote to begin the removal process â before seemingly backtracking â was one of the reasons the lawsuit was filed. In fact, on March 3 of this year, the Iredell County Board of Commissioners voted to remove the Confederate Monument, admitting in their Resolution that the monument occupied a prominent position in front of the justice system during a period of Jim Crow laws, segregation and endemic discrimination against African-Americans, and that, for Black residents, the monument continues to serve as a reminder of policies of oppression, having their roots in the system of slavery that existed in the Confederate States of America.
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