Confederate Statue Will Stay At Tampa Courthouse

TAMPA, FL — The Confederate memorial outside the Hillsborough County courthouse in Tampa isn't going anywhere. It will, however, be getting some company in the form of a "diversity mural" following a Wednesday county commission vote.

The statue, erected in 1911, had been the focus of much debate. Commissioner Les Miller had called for its removal. In the end, only commissioners Al Higginbotham and Pat Kemp voted with Miller. Commissioners instructed county staff to budget for the creation of a mural to go on the wall behind the monument. An ordinance will also be drafted to provide protection for all Hillsborough war memorials from removal in the future.

The 4-3 vote in favor of keeping the statue in place came after a contentious three-hour meeting. On Wednesday morning, commissioners started discussing whether to move the statue.

Commission chambers were packed, with several people holding signs that said, "Americans build monuments we don't remove them!"

Emotions were already running high as debate got underway. A woman with an American flag slung over her body like a sash spoke during public comment and played a music video showing various monuments around the country. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Commission chair Stacy White implored people in the audience to be polite.

"This is obviously a contentious issue," said White. "I'm going to have zero tolerance for outbursts. If this continues I'm going to begin to ask security and law enforcement staff. Let's have civil discourse today. That's something that's lacking across this entire country."

Advocates of Southern heritage say removing these symbols is a disservice to the men who fought in the Civil War.

The monument is in front of a county building that contains administrative offices and traffic court. Facing north, the statue depicts a proud and young Confederate soldier, while facing south, a battered and weary soldier in tattered clothing plods along.

Miller, who is an Air Force veteran, has been compared to the Islamic State for wanting to remove the statue.

One speaker said the desire to move the monuments is a "crazed obsession by radical leftists."

About 75 miles to the northeast, city workers in Orlando on Tuesday started moving a Confederate statue called "Johnny Reb" from a park in the heart of downtown to a nearby cemetery, following renewed public outcry that it's a symbol of racism and white supremacy.

By TAMARA LUSH, Associated Press

Photo credit: Tamara Lush/Associated Press