Tonight, area pastors and community leaders will be in Lafayette to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by calling for the removal of a Confederate-era monument.

The rally, organized by New Beginnings Christian Church in Lafayette, is planned as a commemoration of the 55th anniversary of Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

Starting at 6:00 pm the “I Still Have a Dream” rally will take place near the statue of Confederate General Alfred Mouton located on the corner of Jefferson Street and Lee Avenue in Downtown Lafayette. Organizers say that participants will offer prayers, sing songs, and ask city leaders and residents to unite around the removal of the monument.

Speakers will include Fred Prejean with Move the Mindset and Ms. Marja Broussard of the NAACP, among others.

The General Mouton statue has been the scene of several protests and rallies calling on the city to remove the Confederate-era monument. Earlier this year, Move the Mindset, a local organization dedicated to removing these types of statues, gathered in Downtown Lafayette to rally for its removal. Read that story, here.

The monument to General Alfred Mouton was erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1922.