Protesters in North Carolina have toppled a nearly century-old statue of a Confederate soldier at a rally against racism.
Activists in Durham on Monday used a ladder to tie rope around the bronze Confederate Soldiers Monument, which was dedicated in 1924, and then pulled it down in front of a diverse crowd of onlookers outside an old courthouse that now houses local government offices.
Once it was pulled down protesters then began to kick the toppled monument.
"I was a little bit shocked people could come here and come together like that," Isaiah Wallace, who is black, said.
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Wallace said he watched as others toppled the statue and he hopes other Confederate symbols will follow.
"I feel like this is going to send shockwaves through the country and hopefully they can bring down other racist symbols," he said.
The Durham protest came in response to a weekend white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Authorities say one woman was killed on Saturday after one of the white nationalists drove his car into a group of peaceful counter-protesters.
Although the violence in Virginia has prompted fresh talk by government officials about bringing down symbols of the Confederacy around the South, North Carolina has a law protecting them. The 2015 law prevents removing such monuments on public property without permission from state officials.
In response to the statue in Durham being torn down, Democratic North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper tweeted: "The racism and deadly violence in Charlottesville is unacceptable but there is a better way to remove these monuments."
After the statue fell, several dozen protesters congregated on the street in front of the old courthouse. Some took pictures standing or sitting on the toppled soldier, in front of a pedestal inscribed with the words "In Memory of the Boys Who Wore The Gray." Police cruisers blocked off the street, and officers looked on - some filming. As it got dark, rally participants began to peacefully disperse.
