St. Augustine pastor on Confederate statues: "Not destroyed, but removed"

Two Confederate statues are at the center of a heated conversation in St. Augustine, and a local pastor recently held a meeting at which participants demanded the monuments be taken down.

The two statues sit in the heart of the nation’s oldest city.

The Confederate monument on the eastside of the plaza honors men who died serving the Confederate states.

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The other statue on the west end honors Confederate General William Loring with a Confederate flag and his body buried beneath.

“Those monuments have a meaning to me. They’re Confederate forces, they literally fought so black folks for remain in bondage, in slavery,” said Pastor Ron Rawls with St. Paul AME Church.

That's why Rawls is demanding city leaders take them down.

“Removed, not destroyed, but removed. You can put it on private property, you can put it in a museum, but removed from public spaces,” said Rawls.

He delivered that message inside his packed church Monday night, in front of supporters, city leaders and people who believe the statues should stay.

As the conversation heated up and before more critics of the plan could weigh in, many of them walked out.

Mayor Nancy Shaver says she’s ready to take the conversation to the next level.

“I think we need as elected officials, to hear broadly from the community, so I’m hopeful we can create a forum to allow that to happen,” said Mayor Shaver.

Cox Media Group