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Allendale Township votes to keep Civil War statue

File:Monument honoring a Confederate Soldier located in the Garden of Honor at the Allendale Community Park..jpg by Cnctina is licensed with CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

After a year of ongoing debate, Allendale Township board members have voted to keep its controversial Civil War Statue in its Garden of Honor. The decision follows numerous protests and counter protests by community members.

During a night of heated public comment, Allendale Township’s Board of Trustees voted in a 5-2 decision to keep its Civil War Statue in the Garden of Honor at Allendale Community Park.

““No matter what our decision is, there are people who are going to be unhappy,” Allendale Township Supervisor, Adam Elenbaas said.

Under the motion, the statue will also get repairs.

The decision goes against recommendations made by the township’s selected committee of residents who proposed replacing the current statue with another featuring three, diverse union soldiers.

Many arguing for the statue’s removal say it’s racist, as it features a slave child at the feet of a Union and Confederate soldier, reaching for freedom.

“Nothing has changed. You’re doing nothing but repeating history. Tulsa, Detroit it’s happening in Allendale.”

Those arguing for the statue staying put, say it’s a reminder of history.

“it depicts what happened during the civil war, hence the presence of a civil war veteran and a union veteran.”

While the board went against its committee’s recommendations of in replacing the statue, members have expressed interest in creating additional sculptures to feature in the area.