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University of Texas Moves Jefferson Davis Statue from Outdoor Main Mall (WATCH)

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The University of Texas (UT) - Austin moved ahead with its plan to uproot the statue of Jefferson Davis from the outdoor Main Mall and relocate in an indoor setting.

According to The Austin American-Statesman, the school moved the statues of Jefferson, the former President of the Confederacy, on Sunday afternoon. UT - Austin also moved the statue of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, which stood across from Davis.

Both statues are going to be freshened up, but Davis' statue will be headed to the UT Briscoe Center for American History afterward, whereas Wilson's likeness will still get to see the outdoors.

UT's student government started the initiative to have the Jefferson Davis statue moved in light of the shooting at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina. With the shooting being racially motivated, multiple southern states have experienced similar initiatives to have Confederate symbols removed from public areas.

"This is an iconic moment," Gregory Vincent, UT's vice president for diversity and community engagement, told The Statesman. "It really shows the power of student leadership."

UT - Austin Chancellor Gregory Fenves announced the decision to move the Davis statue earlier this month, stating the school would preserve the monument, but in an indoor setting.

Just before the initial attempt to move the statue, Texas' division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans filed a motion to delay the process. The court ruled against them and UT rescheduled to the moving of the statue.

"I think it's a good idea," Sandra Bieri, a retired law firm librarian and UT graduate from the class of '61, told The Statesman. "It's overdue."

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