PORT ALLEN, La. (BRPROUD) – In a 6-3 vote the West Baton Rouge parish council voted to not remove the statue of confederate Governor Henry Watkins Allen, the namesake of the city Port Allen.
This decision comes a day after the Port Allen City Council voted unanimously on a resolution in support of moving the statue to a museum. Port Allen’s mayor says he was disappointed in the parish council’s decision.
“The pain is still there,” Richard Lee said. “As of today you can see everything thats going around the country… and thats what people are addressing at this particular time.”
Some residents say they were relieved with Thursday’s decision and that they didn’t understand why it was a big deal.
“That statue ain’t do nobody nothing,” Clyde Delafoose said. “Nobodys complained until now. Now all of a sudden the statues are something wrong. It’s giving people an excuse to holler racism.”
While others say the statue a reminder of racist past and keeping it where it is is a move in the wrong direction.
“You can’t erase history but [the statue] should be in the museum, Charlene Gordon said.
People against the keeping of the statue say theyre going to continue to push forward in hopes of one day change coming.