Dallas leaders now hoping to sell Confederate monuments

DALLAS - Another Confederate monument that has been in Dallas for 122 years may soon be gone.

The Dallas City Council has a resolution on Wednesday’s agenda to tear down the monument in Pioneer Park.

That’s a change from last month’s meeting when city staff recommended leaving the monument and adding historical context.

The push to remove Confederate monuments in the city started last year after a deadly attack in Charlottesville, Va. led to tense protests. Dallas removed the Robert E. Lee statue and renamed the park where it stood.

Councilman Philip Kingston was on Good Day Tuesday morning to share his thoughts on the debate.

He believes ultimately both statues will be sold at auction and the money will be used to fund a memorial for a man named Allen Brooks, a black man who was lynched in front of the Old Red Courthouse in 1910. The remaining funds will be used to support public art projects.

“There’s a real chance for turning that symbol that is a more modern symbol,” Kingston said.

The monument in Pioneer Park is not quite so “beloved” or revered as a work of art like the Robert E. Lee statue.

“I encourage people to go read the inscriptions that are on it because I don’t think anyone would love it once they get to know it a little better. It’s pretty horrifying in terms of what’s written on the actual thing. It’s not a really good… it’s certainly not a good symbol of our city. We’re not putting it on any of the convention and visitor’s bureau stuff. We’re clearly not proud of it,” Kingston said.

The city council member said the problem with the old Confederate monuments is that they celebrate a version of history that never really occurred.

“They’re basically false history. So we’re converting false history into real history,” he said.

Wednesday’s city council meeting begins at 9 a.m. and is open to the public.