Around the country, cities have removed symbols ranging from the Confederate flag, to memorials of rank-and-file Confederate soldiers, to statues of prominent generals including Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Within an hour of the Memphis City Council’s vote, police officers and cranes were deployed to Health Sciences Park. The nonprofit seems to have been created expressly for the purpose of buying the parks: It filed its incorporation papers in October, Mr. Strickland said. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyThe city sold Health Sciences Park in its entirety, Mr. McMullen said, and it sold its interest in an easement in Memphis Park. “And what we did was perfectly legal and right.”At the news conference, Mr. Strickland echoed Mr. McMullen’s comments.

Source: New York Times December 21, 2017 02:59 UTC