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Charleston to remove John C. Calhoun statue, defying law

The statue has come under scrutiny amid a wave of pulled-down statues and the removal of names of historical figures who repressed or oppressed other people.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Officials in historic Charleston, South Carolina, say they plan to remove a statue of slavery advocate John C. Calhoun from a downtown square. 

Mayor John Tecklenburg announced the plans during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon. He'll send the recommendation to the city council for final approval.

The 100-foot tall statue sits at Francis Marion Square in the city. The current version of the monument was put up in 1896.

The statue has come under scrutiny amid a wave of pulled-down statues and the removal of names of historical figures who repressed or oppressed other people.

RELATED: SC lawmaker calls for removal of John C. Calhoun statue in Charleston

The removal of statues in South Carolina is governed by the Heritage Act, a 2000 bill that passed through the General Assembly. It requires a two-thirds majority of the legislature to rename or remove monuments and to rename buildings.

Clemson University has requested that Tillman Hall on their campus be renamed and the University of South Carolina president has said his school should consider renaming Sims Hall, a dormitory. 

RELATED: Clemson removes Calhoun's name from Honors College, asks to rename Tillman Hall

RELATED: University of South Carolina considers removing J. Marion Sims' name from women’s residence hall

Calhoun served as the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832, serving under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson before returning to the US Senate. He was a defender of slavery and of states' rights, and owned slaves at his Upstate home in Fort Hill. 

The news of plans to remove it comes on the fifth anniversary of the slaying of eight black church members and their pastor in Dylann Roof’s racist attack at a downtown Charleston church.

RELATED: 5 years later: Remembering the Emanuel 9

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