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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Latest on the removal of Confederate statues in Memphis (all times local):
10:40 a.m.
A private group headed by a county commissioner used anonymous donations to purchase two parks from the city of Memphis, remove two Confederate statues and keep the parks running at their current level.
Shelby County Commissioner Van Turner heads the group, known as Memphis Greenspace Inc. He said at a news conference Thursday that the statues are at an undisclosed location.
Mayor Jim Strickland says Memphis Greenspace filed incorporation papers in October. Turner says its 501(c)(3) nonprofit application is pending.
The City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to sell two parks where Confederate statues were located. Crews worked to remove a statue of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and, at the second park, a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Strickland says Greenspace legally was allowed to remove the statues, but the city wasn't.
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3 a.m.
Crews removed two Confederate statues from Memphis parks after the city sold them to a private entity.
The City Council had earlier voted unanimously Wednesday to sell two parks where Confederate statues were located and crews began working right away to remove a statue of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. At the second park, a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis was later taken down.
The parks were sold to Greenspace Inc. for $1,000 each, The Commercial Appeal reported. Memphis Chief Legal Officer Bruce McMullen said Greenspace can legally remove the statues, which the city was unable to do.
Live video from Health Sciences Park captured cheers as the statue of Forrest was lifted off its marble base and placed on a flatbed truck late Wednesday.
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Information from: The Commercial Appeal, http://www.commercialappeal.com
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