Confederate monument in Tampa will stay put, commission votes to add ‘diversity mural’

After three hours of contentious debate, Hillsborough County commissioners voted 4-3 on Wednesday to keep a Confederate monument outside the old county courthouse in downtown Tampa.

Commissioners Victor Crist, Ken Hagan, Sandy Murman and Stacy White, all Republicans, were in the majority. The board’s other Republican, Commissioner Al Higginbotham, joined Democrats Pat Kemp and Les Miller in advocating for its removal.

The movement to remove the monument is part of this wave to strike down and erase away remnants of the Civil War and the politicians attempted to find a compromise.

Instead of moving the monument, the commissioners want to paint a 10-foot high mural behind it that will pay homage to the county’s diversity. They may also start an education program to address what Murman described as a racism problem in the community.

“No matter what we do today, if we don’t look for consensus, there’s going to be hatred and anger that could last for decades,” said Crist, who suggested the mural.

The main entrance to Hillsborough County’s Courthouse in Tampa, Florida, is shown with the county’s Confederate Memorial in the foreground. photo/ TampAGS, for AGS Media

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn has voiced his opposition to the monument.