Editor’s note: This story has been corrected since its original publication. An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed a statement to Rep. Patricia Haynes Smith.
If the state legislature wants to prevent the removal of Confederate monuments in New Orleans, it will likely have to wait until next year.
A bill sponsored by Rep. Thomas Carmody, R-Shreveport, that would have made it more difficult for municipalities to remove or change monuments died before the House Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs committee today. The committee voted 7-7 to defer the bill, resulting in its failure to pass. All present Democrats voted to defer, while all Republicans voted against.
Carmody’s bill, HB 944, would have created a board from which cities would need to request a waiver before changing any monuments. Democrats on the committee took issue with that aspect of the bill, mostly avoiding the topics of race or the Confederacy early in the hearing.
“You’re only adding another layer of bureaucracy,” said Rep. Sam Jenkins, D-Shreveport.
Jenkins said the bill would remove the power of municipalities and local citizens to determine for themselves what historical events and figures they want to celebrate.
During his testimony, Carmody repeatedly said, “You can’t erase history.” While the bill does not explicitly mention Confederate monuments or New Orleans, controversy around such structures in the Crescent City and movements to have them removed informed the tone of the meeting.
Rep. Patricia Haynes Smith, D-Baton Rouge argued that it was African Americans whose history has historically been erased, and that maintaining Confederate monuments while failing to recognize the history of black people in Louisiana is a continuation of that trend. She also pointed out that when many of the contentious landmarks were erected, African Americans had little say.
“We only see statues to our enslavement,” Smith said.
—Gordon Brillon
Jeremy Alford and Gordon Brillon will publish a daily update throughout the legislative regular session on Daily Report PM. Alford reports on Louisiana politics at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
