NEW ORLEANS — Workers in New Orleans removed the first of four prominent Confederate monuments today, becoming the latest Southern institution to sever itself from symbols viewed by many as a representation of racism and white supremacy.

The Liberty Place monument, which commemorates whites who tried to topple a biracial post-Civil war government in New Orleans, was taken away on a truck in pieces around 5:35 a.m. after a few hours of work.

The removal happened early in the morning in an attempt to avoid disruption from supporters who want the monuments to stay, some of whom city officials said have made death threats.

Workers who took the monument down today could be seen wearing bulletproof vests, military-style helmets and scarves that obscured their faces. Police also were on hand watching over the area.

Three other statues to Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard and Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis will be removed in later days now that legal challenges have been overcome.

“There’s a better way to use the property these monuments are on and a way that better reflects who we are,” New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in an interview Sunday.

Nationally, the debate over Confederate symbols has become heated since nine parishioners were killed at a black church in South Carolina in June 2015. South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from its statehouse grounds in the weeks after.

New Orleans is a majority African-American city although the number of black residents has fallen since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina drove many people from the city.

The majority black City Council in 2015 voted 6-1 to approve plans to take the statues down, but legal battles over their fate have prevented the removal until now.