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Residents in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, have finally won a legal battle to create a new town called St. George.
“This is the culmination of citizens exercising their constitutional rights. We voted and we won,” attorney Andrew Murrell, one of the leaders of the St. George movement, said in a statement following the Louisiana Supreme Court’s decision.
“Whether you are for or you are against St. George, now is your opportunity, a historic opportunity, to create a city from the beginning, from the ground up,” he said. “It’s your ideas, it’s your policies, it’s your way of life and now you can come together and put those out there and have someone accountable to you.”
“Now we begin the process of delivering on our promises of a better city,” Murrell said. “We welcome both our friends and foes to the table to create St. George.”
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Residents in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, have finally won a legal battle to create a new town called St. George. (Getty Images)
Murrell also told the press that he would push to create a school district to improve educational outcomes for residents, as flagged by the New York Post.
“No. 1, we created a city. We have not created a school district,” Murrell said. “They are two distinct separate animals. They have separate budgets, separate leadership structures.”
“But I would be dishonest if I didn’t tell you what’s next on the agenda would be the creation of the St. George school district, which is long overdue in a parish that is near dead last in a state that is near dead last in the country in education,” he said.
Murrrell acknowledged his legal team for winning the legal dispute to create St. George despite criticism from the media and from opposing counsel.
The New York Times portrayed critics to the legal establishment of St. George as being concerned over a “wealthy White community trying to distance itself from the Black and poorer residents in Baton Rouge.”
Baton Rouge’s mayor, Sharon Broome, said that she would work towards unity despite originally opposing the St. George movement.
“My goal from the very beginning — and it will always be my goal — is to advocate for a united Baton Rouge,” Broome told reporters, per the outlet. “I am committed to serving the residents of St. George.”
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The local NAACP chapter released a statement Monday attacking the new town. (Photo by: Visions of America/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Other critics of St. George were less conciliatory. The local NAACP chapter released a statement Monday attacking the new town.
“The St. George plan poses significant risks to our education system, threatens the continuity of critical programs, and challenges community representation,” the local NAACP said. “The creation of a new municipality introduces considerable uncertainty around funding allocation for our schools, jeopardizing the cornerstone of our community’s future: education.”
Mayor Broome’s office directed Fox News Digital to the mayor’s full remarks to media after the Louisiana Supreme Court announcement on Friday.
Jeffrey Clark is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. He has previously served as a speechwriter for a cabinet secretary and as a Fulbright teacher in South Korea. Jeffrey graduated from the University of Iowa in 2019 with a degree in English and History.
Story tips can be sent to jeffrey.clark@fox.com.
