ALLENDALE TOWNSHIP, Mich. – People from both sides of the national debate on removing historical statues clashed Saturday during a protest over a Confederate monument in Allendale Community Park.
Organizers of Saturday’s protest are a part of an effort to get Allendale Township officials to remove the statue located in the park’s Veterans Garden of Honor.
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The statue features a Confederate and Union soldier standing with a young slave crouched down between them.
While some protesters chanted about removing the statue others attended the demonstration in support of it.
The Veterans Garden of Honor is dedicated to US veterans and has nine statues of soldiers in a circle surrounding an 18-foot-tall obelisk topped with an American eagle.
Protests against police brutality prompted by the death of George Floyd have created a national movement to remove statues and historical monuments representative of slavery advocates.
In Detroit the mayor removed a bust of Christopher Columbus this month. It will be placed in storage as the city decides what to do with the monument long-term.
The Columbus bust has been a target of vandalism in the city for years. Columbus monuments around the country have been removed in recent weeks.
Headlines on national debate to remove historical statues: