Confederate memorials

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A renewed push has emerged to rename schools named for Confederate figures amid ongoing nationwide protests over police misconduct and racial injustice. 

The Southern Poverty Law Center says more than 100 public schools are named for Confederates. Many were founded during the days of segregation as all-white schools but now serve mostly African American students.

Birmingham faces a $25,000 fine for obstructing the view of a Confederate monument.

Circuit Judge Marshell Jackson Hatcher last week imposed the $25,000 fine that had been ordered by the state's high court.  

Justices in November ruled that Birmingham violated a state law protecting historic monuments. Justices directed the circuit judge to fine the city $25,000.

Alabama sued Birmingham in 2017 after municipal officials erected a wooden box obscuring the inscriptions on a 52-foot-tall (16-meter-tall) obelisk honoring Confederate veterans. 

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Supreme Court has upheld a state law barring cities from moving or altering Confederate monuments.

Justices on Wednesday reversed a circuit judge’s ruling that declared the law unenforceable because it violates the free speech rights of local communities.

The 2017 law prohibits removing and altering memorials that have been standing for more than 40 years. The legislation was enacted as some Southern states and cities began removing Confederate monuments and emblems.

The city of Birmingham says it did not violate state law when it put up a plywood box around a 52-foot-tall Confederate monument in a city park.

In a court filing yesterday, the city disputed the state of Alabama’s claims that Birmingham violated a law prohibiting the removal or alteration of any monuments more than 40 years old.

Birmingham’s next mayor may have a fight on his hands immediately upon taking office in November.

Randall Woodfin may have to find a way to deal with the ongoing controversy over an embattled Confederate monument in Birmingham. The city is facing a lawsuit from the state Attorney General Steve Marshall over the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Linn Park.

The Alabama Memorial Preservation Act that was passed this summer makes it illegal to remove or rename any memorial streets or buildings on public property that have been in place for 40 or more years.

As cities across the country are tearing down and relocating Confederate monuments, a county in southern Alabama on Sunday unveiled a new one.

Several hundred people attended a dedication ceremony for the "Unknown

 Alabama Confederate Soldiers" at Confederate Veterans Memorial Park in Crenshaw County, Alabama, 55 miles south of Montgomery.

The memorial park's owner and developer, David Coggins, says the groups in attendance weren't white nationalists or racists, but were acknowledging their heritage and honoring Confederate soldiers everywhere.

Confederate monuments have been the topic of many discussions lately, mostly about them being torn down or covered up.

But a new Confederate monument is set to be unveiled this weekend in Crenshaw County. The monument is dedicated to “unknown Alabama Confederate soldiers.” David Coggins, the owner of Confederate Memorial Park where the monument will be located, says it is intended to honor Confederate soldiers who died in battle and never received a proper burial.

State lawmakers are approaching a decision on whether to prevent changes to long-standing monuments in the state, including Confederate memorials.

The state House of Representatives is scheduled to vote later today on a bill that would forbid any alterations or removal of markers that have stood for more than 20 years.

Gov. Kay Ivey could sign the legislation into law if the House passes it. A spokeswoman says Ivey’s office will review the bill if it is approved.