MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) – A plaque honoring Confederate soldiers has been removed from a West Virginia courthouse.

The Journal reports the Jefferson County Commission voted 3-2 last week to remove the plaque and it has been taken down.

Officials have been discussing the plaque’s future since a letter requesting its removal was sent to county officials last year immediately following violent protests at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which had been organized in part to protest the planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Some residents with family who fought on the Confederate side of the Civil War argued that the plaque should remain.

Commissioner Jane Tabb said she voted for the removal to be sensitive to the African-American community.

Officials said it’s unclear whether the plaque will be relocated.

___

Information from: The Journal, http://journal-news.net/