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The city of New Orleans—site of contention over the removal of symbols of the Confederacy—has taken down a statue of Jefferson Davis, early Thursday morning.

Masked crews worked in the dark Thursday to remove the monument to the former Confederate president, which had been up for 106 years, reports WWL-4 New Orleans.

The Jefferson Davis Memorial, erected in 1911, is the second of four monuments slated to come down. Crews showed up shortly after 3 a.m. and the actual removal of the statue was done shortly after 5 a.m. as a sling and bubble wrap were put around the statue before it was hoisted in the air and laid down on the bed of a truck. The crews’ faces were covered to protect their identity.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has been unapologetic in his view that the statues must come down if the city is truly to be a place of equality for all of its citizens.

This morning we continue our march to reconciliation by removing the Jefferson Davis Confederate statue from its pedestal of reverence,” tweeted Mayor Landrieu before the statue’s removal.

Afterward, Landrieu tweeted, “This historic moment is an opportunity to join together as one city and redefine our future. #Nola

The statue had to be removed in darkness because many virulent supporters of the Confederacy—waving Confederate flags of course—were there to protest its removal.

The city began the process to remove the monuments late in 2015, but court challenges tied up the move until recently.

The last two to fall will be the P.G.T. Beauregard monument and that of Robert E. Lee at the city’s iconic Lee Circle.

SOURCE: WWL-4 

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Jefferson Davis Statue Finally Comes Down in New Orleans  was originally published on newsone.com