DALLAS (AP) – The Dallas City Council has voted for the removal of the Confederate War Memorial after 121 years.
The 65-foot obelisk has soared since 1961 over the city’s Pioneer Cemetery across the street from City Hall after serving as the focal point of Old City Park since its 1897 unveiling.
The city must still get approval from the Landmark Commission before the memorial can come down. However, Preservation Dallas warned the council that the removal from a designated historical area would set a “dangerous precedent.”
Surrounding the obelisk are statues of Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Albert Johnston.
The vote comes 18 months after the council voted to remove monuments to the Confederacy, starting with the Robert E. Lee statue in Lee Park in September 2017.
