Commissioners vote to keep Confederate monument in downtown Tampa
TAMPA — As some southern communities move to erase Confederate symbols from their public spaces, one prominently on display in Tampa will stay where it is.
After three hours of contentious debate, Hillsborough County commissioners voted 4-3 on Wednesday to keep a Confederate monument outside the old county courthouse in downtown Tampa.
Commissioners Victor Crist, Ken Hagan, Sandy Murman and Stacy White, all Republicans, were in the majority. The board's other Republican, Commissioner Al Higginbotham, joined Democrats Pat Kemp and Les Miller in advocating for its removal.
Instead of moving the monument, the prevailing commissioners want to paint a 10-foot high mural behind it that will pay homage to the county's diversity. They may also start an education program to address what Murman described as a racism problem in the community.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/hillsborough-commissioners-vote-to-keep-confederate-monument-in-downtown/2328040
