Following the recent events in Charlottesville, Va., officials at the University of Texas in Austin decided to surreptitiously remove several Confederate monuments from the school campus this week. The removal of the statues began late at night on Sunday, August 20, 2017 around 11 p.m.
Just before 11 p.m. on Sunday, UT-Austin President Greg Fenves sent a campus-wide email out to the community, saying that “the monuments depicted parts of U.S. history that ‘run counter to the university’s core values,’” according to the Texas Tribune.
The statues that were removed were of Confederate leaders Robert E. Lee, Albert Sidney Johnston, and John Reagan.
A university spokesperson told the Texas Tribune that officials decided to remove the statues late at night “for public safety and to minimize disruption to the community.” The removal follows the recent attack in Charlottesville and nationwide and statewide protests calling for the removal of Confederate statues from all public spaces.