In confidential memo, Richmond city attorney says city must seek state approval to remove Confederat

[TexasTowelie]

In confidential memo, Richmond city attorney says city must seek state approval to remove Confederate monuments

Any effort to remove Confederate statues on Monument Avenue would require the General Assembly to approve a change to the city charter, according to a recent opinion issued by Richmond City Attorney Allen Jackson.

It’s an ask that would face long odds, particularly in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates, whose members have largely opposed efforts to remove Confederate memorials.

The way Richmond’s charter is written, the city is bound to protect historical landmarks in the city limits — language Jackson said would almost certainly include the statues on Monument Avenue, which were the focus of his review.

“It seems self-evident that the Monument Avenue monuments would be considered ‘historical landmarks’ regardless of the ways in which they are currently perceived by different segments of the community, and they certainly would have been so viewed when the city charter was first enacted in 1948,” wrote Jackson, noting they are “contributing objects to the Monument Avenue Historic District, a (U.S. Park Service) National Historic Landmark.”

Read more: http://www.richmond.com/news/local/city-of-richmond/in-confidential-memo-richmond-city-attorney-says-city-must-seek/article_3c8e1cce-cbd5-5098-95e4-43027a5c357c.html