DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF) – A day after the Robert E. Lee statue was removed from Lee Park in Dallas, citizens spoke in front of the task force designated to discuss what to do with the statue.
The majority of Friday’s speakers asked the task force to preserve the statue and other confederate monuments.
“Robert E. Lee was very instrumental in unifying the Union after the Civil War,” said one speaker. “If the City of Dallas needs a place to store these statues at no cost, you can store them in my front yard.”
The task force will also recommend to the City Council what to do with confederate street names and parks. The task force welcomed it’s newest member, 17-year-old Mary Osack.
“I’m a senior at the Hockaday School and I’m a member of the Dallas Youth Commission,” said Osack. “I represent the District 13. I was appointed by Council member Gates and am excited to participate.”
City Council members recommended the task force have input from a younger perspective.
The group, Preservation Dallas asked the task force Friday, not to remove artwork at Fair Park. David Presiosi says the images related to the state’s time as part of the confederacy is different than other monuments in Dallas.
“It is not a glorification or a memorial to the confederacy,” said Presiosi. “But is artistic in nature and a representation as part of the context of the history of Texas and the nations of which it has been under.”
The task force will report back to the City Council its finding after hearing from the public and different local leaders and organizations.
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