The effort to dismantle and remove the Confederate Monument from Travis Park is picking up steam, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
North side Councilman John Courage today joined the effort by Council members Roberto Trevino and Cruz Shaw to relocate the monument to a 'more appropriate location,' possibly to the Confederate cemetery on the city's east side.
"I believe removing and transferring the Confederate monument at Travis Park to an organization that desires to continue to honor its purpose and to display it in an appropriate setting is the right thing to do," Courage said.
Several hundred people gathered at Travis Park on Saturday to show their support both for moving the monument and for keeping it where it is. A group that wants the monument to remain called for recall efforts against Trevino and Shaw.
Courage praised both of the groups that demonstrated on Saturday, saying they showed 'how free speech and the right to peaceably assemble, guaranteed in our Constitution, protect all of our rights.'
Courage said the monument should be replaced with one honoring William Barret Travis, the Alamo defender who the park is named for.
The 40 foot tall monument, which is capped by a figure of a Confederate soldier, was erected in 1899 and paid for by donations to the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
"I support Councilman Treviño and Councilman Shaw in their efforts and look forward to a discussion on replacing the monument with a tribute more befitting of our city, culture, and community. The events in Charlottesville have sent a clear signal that we should act without delay," he said