Dallas Council Members Agree Confederate Monuments Should Come Down, But Clash Over Process

The Dallas City Council seems to agree that it's high time to take down Confederate statues near City Hall and at Robert E. Lee Park.But the council is a house divided over how to go about removing the longstanding monuments.The battle over timing and process is illustrative of an ongoing power struggle on the council. The competing council members have held dueling news conferences and released conflicting plans over the best way to get to the same goal, possibly around the same time.Mayor Mike Rawlings has his own ideas, based on a recommendation of the Office of Cultural Affairs. Backing him are the council's four black council members. But his political foil, East Dallas council member Philip Kingston — supported by four of his own allies and some vocal Dallas activists — wants to go a different route and have the council "make a clear moral statement" against the statues as soon as possible.   Continue reading...