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| Few in St. Louis Knew Confederate Memorial Existed. Now, Many Want It Gone. | Few in St. Louis Knew Confederate Memorial Existed. Now, Many Want It Gone. |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| ST. LOUIS — The angry, divisive fight over public symbols of the Confederacy has swept through Columbia, S.C., Birmingham, Ala., and New Orleans. This week, the debate made its way some 600 miles north, up the Mississippi River, to St. Louis, the home of a Confederate memorial many residents did not know was in their midst. | ST. LOUIS — The angry, divisive fight over public symbols of the Confederacy has swept through Columbia, S.C., Birmingham, Ala., and New Orleans. This week, the debate made its way some 600 miles north, up the Mississippi River, to St. Louis, the home of a Confederate memorial many residents did not know was in their midst. |
| Here in a graceful public park stands this city’s own grand monument to the Confederacy, a 32-foot-tall granite column adorned with an angel and bronze sculpture of a stoic group of figures. It rises in a thicket of trees, next to a trail teeming with runners, bicyclists and wanderers. | Here in a graceful public park stands this city’s own grand monument to the Confederacy, a 32-foot-tall granite column adorned with an angel and bronze sculpture of a stoic group of figures. It rises in a thicket of trees, next to a trail teeming with runners, bicyclists and wanderers. |
| Many residents said that until very recently, they had no idea that the 103-year-old memorial honored Confederate soldiers. | |
| “Not till they started making all that hoopla over it,” said Larry Randall, 54, who was setting off on a bike ride one afternoon this week in front of the memorial. “I’ve been coming out here for years. I never paid it no mind.” | “Not till they started making all that hoopla over it,” said Larry Randall, 54, who was setting off on a bike ride one afternoon this week in front of the memorial. “I’ve been coming out here for years. I never paid it no mind.” |
| Mr. Randall, who is African-American, said he understood why some people are now calling for it to be removed. “If it’s causing problems, then they should get rid of it. Or maybe just polish the words off,” he said. “I could give a hoot.” | Mr. Randall, who is African-American, said he understood why some people are now calling for it to be removed. “If it’s causing problems, then they should get rid of it. Or maybe just polish the words off,” he said. “I could give a hoot.” |
| This monument has emerged from obscurity in the last few weeks, as four prominent memorials to the Confederacy and its aftermath in New Orleans were pulled down amid protests. The debate has rippled across the South. On Wednesday, Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama signed a measure that blocked the “relocation, removal, alteration, renaming or other disturbance” of “architecturally significant” monuments that have been on public property for at least 40 years. In Hampton, Ga., a museum said on its Facebook page that it would close next week after a county official asked that it remove all Confederate flags from its building. | This monument has emerged from obscurity in the last few weeks, as four prominent memorials to the Confederacy and its aftermath in New Orleans were pulled down amid protests. The debate has rippled across the South. On Wednesday, Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama signed a measure that blocked the “relocation, removal, alteration, renaming or other disturbance” of “architecturally significant” monuments that have been on public property for at least 40 years. In Hampton, Ga., a museum said on its Facebook page that it would close next week after a county official asked that it remove all Confederate flags from its building. |
| Here, a vocal group of activists has turned its attention to this city’s Confederate Memorial, arguing that it, too, should be carted away, out of its prominent place in Forest Park, one of the most beloved public spaces in St. Louis. | Here, a vocal group of activists has turned its attention to this city’s Confederate Memorial, arguing that it, too, should be carted away, out of its prominent place in Forest Park, one of the most beloved public spaces in St. Louis. |
| The antimonument activists have a powerful lineup of city officials on their side, including Lyda Krewson, the newly elected mayor of St. Louis, who said that she favored removing the Confederate Memorial from the park permanently. | The antimonument activists have a powerful lineup of city officials on their side, including Lyda Krewson, the newly elected mayor of St. Louis, who said that she favored removing the Confederate Memorial from the park permanently. |
| “My own opinion is that it is hurtful,” Ms. Krewson, who is white, said in an interview on Thursday. “It reveres something that, you know, we’re not proud of.” | “My own opinion is that it is hurtful,” Ms. Krewson, who is white, said in an interview on Thursday. “It reveres something that, you know, we’re not proud of.” |
| Tishaura O. Jones, the city treasurer, started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the monument’s removal. In about a week, she has gathered more than $11,000. | Tishaura O. Jones, the city treasurer, started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the monument’s removal. In about a week, she has gathered more than $11,000. |
| She passes the memorial during her weekly drive to the grocery store, usually with her 9-year-old son in tow. “What I’m trying to do is set the record straight,” she said. “The Confederates, in my opinion, were traitors. And in this country, we honor patriots.” | She passes the memorial during her weekly drive to the grocery store, usually with her 9-year-old son in tow. “What I’m trying to do is set the record straight,” she said. “The Confederates, in my opinion, were traitors. And in this country, we honor patriots.” |
| Other St. Louisans are resisting the move, arguing that removing it would be tantamount to blotting out the history of the Civil War. Some have said that the enormous monument is too heavy and expensive to move, particularly when it doesn’t have an obvious new home. Still others say that the monument has rarely attracted attention for more than a century — why should St. Louis be caught up in a debate that, in their view, belongs to the Deep South? | Other St. Louisans are resisting the move, arguing that removing it would be tantamount to blotting out the history of the Civil War. Some have said that the enormous monument is too heavy and expensive to move, particularly when it doesn’t have an obvious new home. Still others say that the monument has rarely attracted attention for more than a century — why should St. Louis be caught up in a debate that, in their view, belongs to the Deep South? |
| “My first choice would be that everyone forget it was there, like before,” said George Stair, 77, who paused at the monument on an evening walk with his wife, Jane Yu, who agreed that it should stay. | “My first choice would be that everyone forget it was there, like before,” said George Stair, 77, who paused at the monument on an evening walk with his wife, Jane Yu, who agreed that it should stay. |
| Mr. Stair gazed at the sculpture. “I feel like it’s O.K. to honor ordinary soldiers,” he said. “People went to Vietnam even though they didn’t agree with it.” | Mr. Stair gazed at the sculpture. “I feel like it’s O.K. to honor ordinary soldiers,” he said. “People went to Vietnam even though they didn’t agree with it.” |
| Missouri, once a slave state, was uniquely torn between North and South during the Civil War, a border state where families and neighbors sympathized with warring sides and were often pitted against one another. | Missouri, once a slave state, was uniquely torn between North and South during the Civil War, a border state where families and neighbors sympathized with warring sides and were often pitted against one another. |
| “It was a divided state, which explains why we have so many of these problems here today,” said Mark L. Trout, the executive director of the Missouri Civil War Museum outside St. Louis. (Mr. Trout said his museum would be happy to accept the memorial as a gift, though he did not have a place for it to be displayed at the moment.) | “It was a divided state, which explains why we have so many of these problems here today,” said Mark L. Trout, the executive director of the Missouri Civil War Museum outside St. Louis. (Mr. Trout said his museum would be happy to accept the memorial as a gift, though he did not have a place for it to be displayed at the moment.) |
| Divisions over the Confederate Memorial turned especially sharp this week, when demonstrators calling for its removal gathered in the park on Tuesday evening. They were joined by a handful of counter-protesters, men who told reporters that they were from outside St. Louis and who carried a Confederate flag. | Divisions over the Confederate Memorial turned especially sharp this week, when demonstrators calling for its removal gathered in the park on Tuesday evening. They were joined by a handful of counter-protesters, men who told reporters that they were from outside St. Louis and who carried a Confederate flag. |
| One opponent of the statue, Amy Maxwell, said that people from both groups were carrying handguns, and at one point someone snatched the Confederate flag and ran off, instigating a chase from the pro-monument group. | One opponent of the statue, Amy Maxwell, said that people from both groups were carrying handguns, and at one point someone snatched the Confederate flag and ran off, instigating a chase from the pro-monument group. |
| Sometime during the night, the monument was spray-painted in blue with the phrases “This is treason” and “Black lives matter.” Workers were seen on Wednesday morning removing the words. | Sometime during the night, the monument was spray-painted in blue with the phrases “This is treason” and “Black lives matter.” Workers were seen on Wednesday morning removing the words. |
| Out for a run on Wednesday, Ms. Maxwell, a 22-year-old student at Saint Louis University, paused in front of the memorial, stepped around the metal barriers and spat on it. | Out for a run on Wednesday, Ms. Maxwell, a 22-year-old student at Saint Louis University, paused in front of the memorial, stepped around the metal barriers and spat on it. |
| Ms. Maxwell, who is white, said she planned to demonstrate every week until it is removed. “It would be nice to have some black abolitionists memorialized in this city.” | Ms. Maxwell, who is white, said she planned to demonstrate every week until it is removed. “It would be nice to have some black abolitionists memorialized in this city.” |
| Dorothy Bohnenkamp, 51, a psychotherapist who was born and raised in St. Louis, was taking her usual run in the park on Wednesday, directly past the memorial. | Dorothy Bohnenkamp, 51, a psychotherapist who was born and raised in St. Louis, was taking her usual run in the park on Wednesday, directly past the memorial. |
| She said she had rarely given the monument a thought until recently, when it appeared in the news, and was not cheering for its removal. | She said she had rarely given the monument a thought until recently, when it appeared in the news, and was not cheering for its removal. |
| “Personally, I don’t see where it represents anything specifically related to racism,” Ms. Bohnenkamp, who is black, said. “So they take it down. What does that represent? It’s still the same history.” | “Personally, I don’t see where it represents anything specifically related to racism,” Ms. Bohnenkamp, who is black, said. “So they take it down. What does that represent? It’s still the same history.” |
| Ms. Krewson, the mayor, said she would like to act quickly, drawing up a plan for removal within the next three weeks. She has seen cost estimates of close to $130,000, and envisions using a mix of public and private money for the project. | Ms. Krewson, the mayor, said she would like to act quickly, drawing up a plan for removal within the next three weeks. She has seen cost estimates of close to $130,000, and envisions using a mix of public and private money for the project. |
| For now, the memorial has become an object of curiosity in the park. Passers-by stopped to inspect the monument, snapped cellphone pictures and traced their fingers over the worn and stained surface. | For now, the memorial has become an object of curiosity in the park. Passers-by stopped to inspect the monument, snapped cellphone pictures and traced their fingers over the worn and stained surface. |
| Ayana Parker, 12, was exercising with her mother, Shalonda Bolden, in the park when they paused to read the lettering on the memorial. | Ayana Parker, 12, was exercising with her mother, Shalonda Bolden, in the park when they paused to read the lettering on the memorial. |
| “It’s nice that it’s honoring soldiers,” Ayana said. Her mother gently explained that the memorial was honoring Confederate soldiers in particular. | “It’s nice that it’s honoring soldiers,” Ayana said. Her mother gently explained that the memorial was honoring Confederate soldiers in particular. |
| “It’s for the people who wanted to keep slavery?” Ayana said, her eyes returning to the monument. She grew quiet. “Oh.” | “It’s for the people who wanted to keep slavery?” Ayana said, her eyes returning to the monument. She grew quiet. “Oh.” |
| Ms. Bolden said she didn’t believe the memorial should be destroyed. “They should put it in a museum so people can get an explanation of what it is,” she said. “It just shouldn’t be here.” | Ms. Bolden said she didn’t believe the memorial should be destroyed. “They should put it in a museum so people can get an explanation of what it is,” she said. “It just shouldn’t be here.” |