Fate of McComb’s Confederate monument remains uncertain

Published 9:25 am Monday, October 30, 2017

MCCOMB (AP) — Officials in one Mississippi city are still wrangling over whether they can move a century-old Confederate monument.

The Enterprise-Journal reports McComb has sought two quotes for how much it would cost to move the monument from City Hall to a cemetery in Magnolia where some Confederate soldiers are buried. The lower quote was $31,000.

Mayor Whitney Rawlings supports moving the monument but wants private donors to pay for it.

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Many Mississippi cities and counties have statues of Confederate soldiers, but the McComb monument is an upright slab with benches on two sides.

Selectman Tommy McKenzie obtained an opinion from the state attorney general’s office, which said the monument could be moved but only to other public property in McComb.

City attorney Wayne Dowdy said the opinion is not legally binding.