The Confederate memorial that sits between Third and Second Street near University of Louisville and Manual will be relocated, according to Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and University President James Ramsey.

Fischer and Ramsey announced their decision at a press conference held in front of the monument on Friday morning.

“It’s always important to remember and respect our history, but it’s equally important to reflect on that history in proper context,” Fischer said. “This monument represents our history — a painful part of our nation’s history for many — and it’s best moved to a new location.”

Dr. Ricky Jones, professor and chair of the Pan-African Studies department at the University of Louisville, said that characterizing the monument as part of Kentucky history is “inaccurate,” and that the statue is a daily reminder of the “inhumanity” of slavery.

Jones published a column in the Courier-Journal on April 21 calling for the statue’s removal.

“This is a monument to traitors,” Jones said. “It would be like building a monument to the Viet Cong or the Taliban here.”

Jahné Brown (12, J&C), president of Manual’s Black Student Union, was glad that the monument was being relocated.

“You can remember the past without honoring the past, and I think that a monument to something is different than something in a museum,” Brown said.

But Mr. James Garrett (Social Studies) disagreed.

“To remove the monument and almost demean the people who died, is just saying that what they gave wasn’t enough, their death is not as meaningful,” Garrett said.

At press time, officials had not found a new location for the monument.