'Genocide Cannon' Removed From Decatur Square The "genocide cannon" was installed in Decatur in 1906 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

'Genocide Cannon' Removed From Decatur Square

“The "genocide cannon" was installed in Decatur in 1906 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Updated Wed, Oct 20, 2021 at 1:01 pm ET

A controversial monument was removed Tuesday from Decatur Square in Decatur, Georgia. (Shutterstock)

DECATUR, GA — The controversial "genocide cannon" in Decatur was removed Tuesday night, according to several media reports. The DeKalb County Commission unanimously voted last week to remove the more than a century old monument from Decatur Square, reported WAGA-TV. 

Stirring up controversy, groups have tried to have it removed for months. It was installed in 1906 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, reported WAGA-TV.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, activist groups such as Beacon Hill have been fighting for the cannon's removal since last summer. 

"This victory proves that the earth beneath has more power than the cannon," John Winterhawk, an elder with the Muscogee tribe, said in anews release issued by the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights.

The cannon is connected to the Indian War of 1836, reported The Associated Press. Local activists have said it represents the brutal suffering of thousands of Muscogee people who were removed from their native lands. 

The cannon is to be moved into storage within 90 days.

In June 2020, another monument was removed after now-retired Superior Court judge Clarence Seeliger ordered the Decatur Confederate monument be taken down and placed in storage. In his ruling, he called the monument a public nuisance and ordered it to be removed. People gathered to watch construction crews remove the 30-foot obelisk.”