The outrage over the death of George Floyd —a black man killed by police in Minneapolis—has already led to change in Birmingham, said former City Council President Johnathan Austin.
In 2017, while president of the City Council, Austin went to Montgomery to oppose a bill, the Confederate Memorial Preservation Act, by the state legislature that would have allowed the state to prohibit and prevent cities from removing confederate statues.
‘“I went [to the Legislature] representing the City Council and told them we were opposed to that bill because there were things that we would like to do in our own city, particularly Birmingham,” Austin recalled.
At City Hall, Austin began discussions during committee and council meetings and went before the Parks and Recreation board, which voted unanimously to have that monument removed from Linn Park.
“Every other mayor before Mayor Woodfin had the authority to remove that statue without any fines, or penalties and without a lot of fanfare, . . .” Austin said, “ . . . it took this young man that we have as our current mayor to take that necessary step to address something that has been so painful to so many people in our community.”
