Brian Lyman

Montgomery Advertiser

A bill introduced in the Legislature would make it more difficult for municipalities to remove historical monuments.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, would prevent cities from removing historical monuments without approval from the Alabama Legislative Council, which recommends bills to the Legislature.

Allen’s proposal, first introduced last summer, follows moves by states and cities in the South to remove Confederate emblems from public display. But Allen said his purpose was not to protect those monuments, but to avoid what he called a “whitewash” of history.

“I think it’s important for us to protect the historic value of America in this great state,” Allen said in a phone interview Friday. “We’ve got a huge task ahead of us to keep America strong, and the way to do that is to protect our history, because history has taught us a great deal about where we’ve been and how to prevent making the same mistakes in the future.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center opposes the legislation. SPLC President Richard Cohen said in a statement that "its obvious goal is to preserve Confederate monuments."

"As a state, we should not honor the Confederacy because it was formed to preserve slavery, a monstrous institution," the statement said. "As states across the country continue to take steps to remove symbols of the Confederacy, it is unfortunate to see Alabama continue to try to preserve the Lost Cause.”

The bill, if passed, would prohibit the “removal of any object of remembrance” from public property without permission from the Legislative Council. Cities would also need the council's blessing to rename a “school, street, bridge, building, park, preserve, or reserve” named after “an event, a person, a group, a movement, or military service.”

Getting permission to do so would be difficult. Cities that wanted to remove historical monuments would have to pass a resolution to do so. The resolution would only be valid after two months of public advertising of the proposal – including the display of a sign at the monument targeted -- and two hearings on the monument in question.

The municipality would then file a petition with the Alabama Legislative Council after the Alabama Historical Commission confirmed the city met all the necessary requirements. The bill would not require the granting of a waiver.

Cities that removed historical objects without a waiver could face a fine of $100,000 for each violation.

Allen said he chose the Legislative Council as the arbiter because they could draw on experts from the Historic Commission and the Alabama Department of Archives and History. “You’ve got some resources to turn to,” he said.

Southern states began re-evaluating the display of Confederate symbols after nine people, all black, were shot and killed at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. last June. Pictures of the accused shooter, Dylann Roof, who is white, showed him posing with symbols of white supremacy, including the Confederate battle flag.

Gov. Robert Bentley in June ordered the removal of four Confederate flags from a state monument to the Confederacy. Legislative officials ordered Confederate flags removed from the Old House and Senate chambers at about the same time.

Some cities, including New Orleans, have begun to remove stone monuments to the Confederacy. Birmingham’s Park and Recreation Board voted last July to remove the Confederate Soldiers & Sailors monument. A group called Save Our South sued to stop the action, but a circuit judge dismissed the lawsuit in November. The monument remains in Linn Park, according to a report on WVTM earlier this month.

Allen filed versions of the legislation in both special sessions of the Legislature last summer. Neither version came out for a vote. But he said he expected this bill to have an opportunity to be "heard on the Senate floor.”

The 2016 legislative session begins Feb. 2.