DALLAS (AP) — Dallas’ four black city councilmen are calling for the city’s Confederate statues to be removed as way to heal the area’s racist history.
Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway held a news conference Friday with the other three black city councilmen to “present a unified statement” on the statues.
Councilman Kevin Felder called the monuments “symbols of racism.” He says he has talked with Mayor Mike Rawlings about speeding up a proposed 90-day study by a task force to decide what to do with the monuments.
Rawlings had proposed a task force earlier this week that would make a recommendation to the Office of Cultural Affairs and the City Council in November.
The councilmen said removing the statues is a step toward a larger conversation about Dallas’ racial climate.
___
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.