The city of Memphis orchestrated the removal of the Confederate statues in December of last year after a request to take down the statues was denied by the state’s Historical Commission.

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Memphis city officials worked around the restrictions by selling the public land on which the statues were located, then voting to remove the statues—a measure that passed unanimously. Within minutes of the vote, equipment and personnel, including a heavy police presence, were at the sites ready to take down the statues.

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Memphis city officials were eager to remove the statues before the 50th anniversary this month of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.