Dallas, Don't Let City Council Politics Distract From Consensus to Remove Tributes to Confederate Leaders

The good news is that it appears an overwhelming majority of the council agrees that it's time for two towering Confederate memorials - at Robert E. Lee Park and the Confederate War Memorial near City Hall - to be removed from our public spaces. We explained in an editorial last month, prior to the Charlottesville violence, why believe these two painful tributes to our country's racist past must go if this city has any hope of healing and moving forward.The bad news is that this consensus has become mired in City Council political infighting.Mayor Mike Rawlings, backed by four black council members, would have a task force make recommendations about what to do with the statues before the council votes to take them down. Another track, put forth by Council member Philip Kingston and supported by his council allies, would have the council vote first on a detailed resolution that calls for "expeditiously" removing the monuments and then appoint a task force to figure out how to go about taking them down.  Continue reading...