Lee County NAACP wants Robert E. Lee bust removed for good from Fort Myers

There’s a renewed push to get rid of the bust of Robert E. Lee in downtown Fort Myers.

The NAACP in Lee County met Wednesday to have a discussion about the monument that is displayed in Fort Myers.

The Lee County NAACP wants it gone from its location in the city forever, while others say it’s of historical significance.

The bust is currently not on display in the city after Sons of the Confederacy removed it from it plinth ahead of racial injustice protests in response to the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis police custody at the end of May.

And the local NAACP doesn’t want the Robert E. Lee bust to return to its public exhibit. Members are against what they call a symbol of hate.

“It represents racial injustice,” said James Muwakkil, the Lee County NAACP president. “It represents the killing of black people. He fought for the continuation of slavery, which meant lynching and castration upon black people.”

Muwakkil and more than a dozen others gathered and voiced their concerns over the Confederate general, whose memory runs in the veins of Lee County.

For Napa Peacock, it’s personal.

“This causes that barrier between unity for everyone and equality for everyone,” said Peacock in Fort Myers.

As a mother of three, Peacock doesn’t want her kids to grow up in a world of inequality.

“There is a lack of knowledge when it comes to what the statue represents. Who is this person,” Peacock explained. “Nobody should see color. Everybody should see you’re human; I’m human; we bleed the same.”

We heard many individuals say they think the Robert E. Lee statue belongs in a museum.

The Lee County NAACP also plans to meet with local law enforcement to discuss policy changes.

For other locals, the bust is a symbol of history.

But Muwakkil counters that.

“It’s not our history,” Muwakkil said. “It’s a nightmare for us.”