FORT MYERS, Fla. -- In the aftermath of the violent protests that have shaken up Charlottesville, Virginia, there's now a renewed effort to remove signs of the Confederacy in Lee County.
A bust of Confederate general Robert E. Lee, the man Lee County is named after, sits on Monroe Street in downtown Fort Myers.
Now the Lee County NAACP president, James Muwakkil, is now renewing his efforts to have it moved, following the racially charged protests in Virginia. But this isn't the first time Muwakkil has tried having Lee's bust removed.
The bust has been on display there here since the 1960's.
Opinions are split among those we spoke with on whether the statue should stay or go.
“Trying to hide what really happened and it happened. It’s like taking the Confederate flag down. It exists, or existed, so why do it?”
“We don't want a situation like Charlottesville. We don’t. We want to bring all the groups together depending on the differences of opinions. I think the city will be much better when it celebrates its diversity.”
The white nationalist's protesting in Charlottesville, Virginia was a response to the city making a plan to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee.
Muwakkil plans to approach city and county officials about the statue.
