‘Robert E. Lee is not a war,’ SC city argues to move marker

By JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Lawyers for the city of Charleston say a marker honoring a Confederate general is not protected from removal under South Carolina law because of the way the 2000 act was written. The attorney say the Heritage Act only protects monuments to 10 wars specifically mentioned. They wrote “Robert E. Lee is not a war” in a letter to state Attorney General Alan Wilson, who demanded the city put the maker back in front of the Charleston Charter School for Math and Science. The city removed the marker last summer after the school’s principal said it was a pain point for the majority-minority school which was also the first in Charleston to integrate.