https://www.dallasnews.com/news/dal...ives-oak-lawn-park-remove-robert-e-lee-statue
Crane arrives at Oak Lawn park in Dallas to remove Robert E. Lee statue
Dallas City Hall at 1 hr ago
A crane truck got a police escort Thursday through Dallas to an Oak Lawn park where a statue of Robert E. Lee has been due for removal since last week.
Squad cars blocked freeway ramps on Interstate 35E as the crane headed south toward the park on Turtle Creek Boulevard.
The crane arrived about 4 p.m. at the park, where crews began preparing the statue for removal.
Workers moved quickly to secure the 14-foot-tall statue.
Delivery driver Chris Reid, 36, came by to observe the removal.
Reid, who is black, said that for a long time, he had not known what the statue commemorated. But once he learned it was the likeness of the Confederate general, he wanted to see it removed.
"This man shed his blood, sweat and tears to make sure my ancestors stayed enslaved," he said. "I can't be happy about that."
Reid, who lives in Oak Cliff but works near Lee Park, said he isn't even willing to discuss the matter with people who care deeply about preserving the statue.
Others standing nearby, who declined to give their full names, said they were sad to see the statue go. They said the statue, which has been in Lee Park for 81 years, is part of Dallas history.
Frank Darbo, 40, quickly painted a sign stating, "The radical left is destroying American History," and headed to Lee Park when he heard about the removal.
"I listened to both sides of the argument," he said. "I think both sides do have valid points. What I'm afraid of is that it doesn't stop with Confederate statues. Next it goes to George Washington, Abe Lincoln. Everybody. What this is really about is a small group of people on the radical left, the alt left, they're pushing for this. And it won't stop."
Darbo and another man suggested putting up a statue honoring Muhammad Ali nearby instead of removing Lee.
The removal comes after pro-statue callers inundated the offices of City Council member Jennifer Staubach Gates and Mayor Mike Rawlings. A conservative group had implored callers to express their opposition to the near-unanimous council decision specifically to Gates and Rawlings, neither of whom had the power alone to halt the removal.
