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Seattle mayor wants Confederate memorial, Lenin statue removed

Left: Confederate statue; Right: Lenin statue

SEATTLE — More than 4,000 people signed a petition demanding Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and the city council remove a confederate memorial in Seattle -- one that has been on private land since 1926.

On Thursday afternoon, Murray said he would like to see the monument at Lake View Cemetery and the Vladimir Lenin statue in Fremont -- one that has been there since 1995 -- removed.

>> Follow this link for a Q and A about the Lenin statue, and use this link to read about the Confederate grave site monument.

Confederate monuments are being removed around the country under pressure from those who say they honor a regime that enslaved African-Americans. The pace has increased, however, in the wake of last weekend's deadly confrontation at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

But in Seattle, the confederate monument of debate sits on private property at Lake View Cemetery, which was closed after angry calls on Wednesday. Lake View will remain closed until Monday.

>> To read exactly what led to the monument getting created in Seattle, read this Q& A

The granite memorial –- surmounted by the Southern Cross has the insignia of the Daughters of the Confederacy – was created by the same sculptor who created a statue honoring Chief Sealth, the city’s namesake. The 10-ton piece was shipped to Seattle from Stone Mountain in Georgia.

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It was erected in 1926 after a United Daughters of the Confederacy chapter raised funds for the plot. During the dedication ceremony that same year, Tacoma mayor Elect M.G. Tennant said it “called attention to the lasting good that had come out of the struggle between North and South.”

>> Two more confederate era monuments are in Washington state. Read where here

The people behind the online petition say they want it moved because, in addition to what they believe are racial overtones, the monument is not a gravestone. KIRO 7 News found twelve people are buried at the monument alongside a preserved capsule.

Scroll down to keep reading.

Mayor Murray said his office called Lake View about the monument on Wednesday. Here’s a statement his office sent to KIRO 7:

"We must remove statues and flags that represent this country's abhorrent history of slavery and oppression based on the color of people's skin. It is the right thing to do. During this troubling time when neo-Nazis and white power groups are escalating their racist activity, Seattle needs to join with cities and towns across the country who are sending a strong message by taking these archaic symbols down.

"The monument to Confederate soldiers in the Lake View Cemetery is located on private property. My office has called the cemetery operator to express our concerns regarding the monument. As we continue our ongoing proactive work to be an inclusive and welcoming community, we must also join the fight against the mainstreaming of hateful and despicable far-right political ideology."

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On Thursday, Murray made a different statement.

"In the last few days, Seattleites have expressed concerns and frustration over symbols of hate, racism and violence that exist in our city," Murray said in a written statement through his spokesman, Benton Strong. "Not only do these kinds of symbols represent historic injustices, their existence causes pain among those who themselves or whose family members have been impacted by these atrocities.

"We should remove all these symbols, no matter what political affiliation may have been assigned to them in the decades since they were erected. This includes both confederate memorials and statues idolizing the founder of the authoritarian soviet regime. Both are on private property, but I believe the confederate memorial at Lake View Cemetery and the Lenin statue in Fremont should be removed. We should never forget our history, but we also should not idolize figures who have committed violent atrocities and sought to divide us based on who we are or where we came from."

> >There also was a protest on Wednesday at the Vladimir Lenin statue in Fremont. Follow this link to read a Q and A about the Lenin statue, which includes details about the protest.

Many of the statues discussed for removal in other cities were on public property. And some leaders, like the mayor in Baltimore, argued that it was in the best interested of safety to remove four statues, according to their city charter.

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There is not a law in Seattle that prohibits the mayor from removing something from private property. This is a broad topic and would likely be a matter of private property rights and free speech, which flow from both statutory and common law, King County Law Library staff said in an email.

In California, a Los Angeles cemetery did remove a confederate memorial on one of its plot, but it was at the hands of Long Beach chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy after a prompt from the cemetery president.