UPDATE: Bungalower originally stated that the decision to move the statue was based on a Council vote, however, this was, in fact, an executive decision made by the mayor. 

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer made an executive decision The Orlando City Council voted to move the Confederate statue from Lake Eola to Greenwood Cemetery, following public testimony at the Monday City Council meeting.

Opponents and supporters of the move attended the City Council meeting to voice their concerns. The vote is not included in the City Council YouTube video, online.

Following the City Council meeting, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer issued the following statement, regarding the future of the statue.

“As you know, there is a national debate going on regarding monuments and memorials dedicated to the Civil War that were installed back in the 1800s and early 1900s.

Here in Orlando, we have one such monument, the confederate statue at Lake Eola Park. These statues are subject to various interpretations. Some, like myself, see them as historical markers dedicated to men who died during a war.
Others perceive them as a symbol of white supremacy and the vestige of slavery. With this understanding and our City’s commitment to inclusiveness, I am proposing to move the statue to a more appropriate location at Greenwood Cemetery within the confederate veterans’ section.
During today’s City Council meeting, we heard public comments about the statue and its location.
I don’t feel the statue should be taken down permanently. My proposed plan of action is two-fold and includes:
  • Engaging historians from UCF and other academic institutions to develop and install an appropriate educational interpretive panel near the monument that would put the monument in proper historical context and serve as an educational tool for our community and future generations about this painful period of our history.
  • Preserving this historic artifact of our past by utilizing a professional team to thoroughly inspect and carefully dismantle, move, reassemble and re-erect the statue in Greenwood Cemetery in the Civil War confederate section. This would not be the first time the statue has been moved, as it was originally located on Magnolia Avenue before it was moved to Lake Eola Park in 1917.
As we move this plan forward, I believe this proposal balances the inclusive morals of our community today, while carefully preserving historic artifacts from our past that can be used to further educate and serve as important lessons in today’s society.” – Mayor Buddy Dyer
A timeline and cost for the move will be set as the City moves forward with the plan.

Brendan O'Connor

Editor in Chief of Bungalower.com

Join the Conversation

3 Comments

Have something to say? Type it below. Holding back can give you pimples.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Reply

    1. Theyre still hatching that plan Ken. We’ll post the details when they release them.

      Reply

  2. Similar monuments were errected throughout the U.S.A. during the second Klan era. There is even a monument dedicated to “Our Confederate Dead” in Montana although there is no record of anyone from the then sparsely populated territory dver fighting for the Confederacy. “Lies across America” is a great read.

    Reply