SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) – Local officials have voted to remove a Confederate monument from the courthouse grounds in a northwest Louisiana parish.

The Caddo Parish Commission voted 7-5 for the measure on Thursday after hearing nearly two hours of opinions about the monument erected 111 years ago in Shreveport.

A motion to have voters decide the matter failed 5-7.

American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana executive director Marjorie Esman says the decision shows Shreveport is a place where freedom and equality are valued.

The monument won’t be removed soon. Legal challenges are likely. And the commission has not decided where the monument should be moved, or how to take it down in a way that will let it be re-erected somewhere else.