 In 2017, the controversial Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia prompted the removal of Confederate monuments in various southern cities, and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings called for a task force to decide what to do with the memorial.In April 2018, a local group calling itself "Return to Lee Park" was formed, and the group filed lawsuits to block the removal of both the War Memorial and the "Robert E. Lee on Traveller" statue in Lee Park.In an 11–4 vote on February 13, 2019, the Dallas City Council approved removal of the War Memorial.