GoFundMe effort to take down St. Louis' Confederate monument

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones has begun a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for removal of the Confederate Memorial at Forest Park.

Mayor Lyda Krewson, who narrowly defeated Jones in the Democratic primary in March before winning the April general election, said this week she wants to remove the 32-foot-tall granite monument. The problem is the cost. The 103-year-old granite monument weighs 40, tons and removing it will be expensive.

So Jones launched a GoFundMe page labeled "Take it down, St. Louis." By Thursday evening, almost $6,000 had been raised toward the $25,000 goal.

Other cities across the South have removed, or are considering removing, statues and monuments honoring the Confederacy, though critics say it is wrong to try and erase a part of the nation's history.

Pertinent address:

Forest Park, St. Louis, Mo.