Leaders in a western Michigan community have voted to keep a statue of Confederate and Union Civil War soldiers with a Black child kneeling between them.
The Allendale Township board voted 5-2 Monday, despite a recommendation from a group that the statue be replaced by one with Union soldiers who are Black, Native American and white. Dozens of people attended the meeting, which was held outdoors at a park bandshell, 15 miles west of Grand Rapids.
Jody Hansen, township clerk and board member, says a majority of Allendale Township residents want to keep the statue.
