FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) – A southwest Florida NAACP chapter is dropping its fight to have Gen. Robert E. Lee's portrait removed from a county building.
Lee County NAACP President James Muwakkil had sought to have the Confederate general's portrait removed from the county commission chambers.
Lee County is named after Lee, who commanded the Confederate army during the Civil War.
The NAACP said the portrait was a slap to the face for local minorities. The Ku Klux Klan sent a letter to the county commission arguing that Lee's portrait was not racist.
The News-Press reports (http://newspr.es/195QXk8 ) that at a town hall meeting Saturday with state and local NAACP leaders, Muwakkil said his chapter's requests for demonstrations against the portrait were denied.
Muwakkil said state leaders want him to focus on crime and other issues.
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