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Protesters demand for removal of Confederate statue in Port Allen

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PORT ALLEN - Dozens of residents and some elected officials marched to the West Baton Rouge Parish Courthouse on Sunday, demanding that the statue of a former Governor of Louisiana and slave owner be removed.

"I don't see no Jews celebrating no Hitler. I don't want this nowhere. Not in Louisiana, not anywhere in the United States. It's time for this all of this racist junk to come down," Zachary City Councilman, Lael Montgomery said.

The statue is of former Confederate Louisiana governor, General Henry Watkins Allen, who served in the confederate army and also owned a plantation in West Baton Rouge, with more than 100 slaves.

Co-organizer of the protest, Shelton Berry is actually a descendant of one of Allen's slaves.

"As a descendant of an ancestor who came from the Allendale Plantation, the plantation he co-owned, it's an insult, and bringing down the statute is the first step. We have a long road ahead of us, " Berry said.

The mayor of Port Allen Richard Lee spoke at the rally and issued a challenge to fellow elected officials.

"Elected officials of City of Port Allen, Addis, Brusly, and most importantly the West Baton Council the citizens of this parish are asking to remover the hurt and pain this statue represents," Lee said.

The City of Port Allen is also named after the Confederate Governor, General Henry Watkins Allen. Protesters are saying that needs to change as well.

"The name change, the school change, Allendale Road change, we want it all changed," Berry said.

Port Allen mayor says that the removal of the statute will be addressed at the next city council meeting.

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