DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — On Tuesday, the DeKalb County Commission met to decide on the future of the Confederate monument in Decatur Square.
Channel 2's Audrey Washington was at the meeting as the commission discussed the monument, after thousands of residents, as well as the City Commission, requested its removal.
On Monday, the Decatur City Commission unanimously passed a resolution condemning white supremacy and supporting the removal of the Confederate monument from the square.
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The monument was erected in 1908, and those against it say it continues to glorify white supremacy and unequal treatment of residents of color.
Washington spoke with some of the activists, who said they will provide attorneys free of charge to assist with the removal process and make sure the monument is placed in a museum.
"The city of Decatur has the highest concentration of attorneys in the state of Georgia and they have been volunteering to support this effort," NAACP representative Mawuli Davis said.
"I don't want Decatur Square to be the symbol of white supremacy," said Lorraine Fontana.
Fontana wore a Black Lives Matter shirt as she stood before the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners and asked for the Confederate monument to be removed.
She was one of several speakers who took to the podium to voice opposition to the monument.
"We no longer want to pay taxes to help maintain anything that stands for hate," said resident Teresa Hardy.
Following the public comment portion of the meeting, activists with the local NAACP and with Hate Free Decatur spoke.
"The Atlanta race riots were 111 years last week and this monument went up only 2 years later that is a direct correlation that this monument went up to celebrate the kind of white supremacy and racial violence that took place in DeKalb County," said Sara Patenaude with Hate Free Decatur.