RALEIGH, N.C.  – Gov. Roy Cooper released an op-ed Tuesday afternoon where he calls for the removal of all Confederate monuments on state property.

Cooper said he is well aware of the white supremacy that exists in modern society due to his 16 years as attorney general.

“I’ve asked the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to determine the cost and logistics of removing Confederate monuments from state property as well as alternatives for their placement at museums or historical sites where they can be studied in context,” Cooper wrote.

Read the op-ed here.

“It’s time to move forward,” Cooper wrote.

He also called for lawmakers to repeal at 2015 North Carolina law that bans local governments from removing monuments without state approval.

“Cities, counties and the state must have the authority and opportunity to make these decisions,” the governor said.