Move Confederate monuments? Here’s what you said.
Gov. Roy Cooper has petitioned the N.C. Historical Commission to move three Confederate monuments from the grounds of the state Capitol to the Bentonville Battlefield, a Civil War site in Johnston County. The commission has yet to issue a response, but opened an online comment portal for members of the public from January 29 to April 12. Here are a few of the nearly 7,000 comments, edited for brevity.
“Let the statues remain where they are. I am a black man, born and raised in the South, and who experienced the civil rights movement. If there is anyone who should be offended by Confederate statues, it ought to be me. However, I’m not the least bit offended. The statues are simply a part of history. —William Nowell, Raleigh.
“I have been a North Carolina resident since 1982. I was raised in Virginia, where my family’s history goes back almost 400 years ... These monuments are not helping to bind up our nation’s wounds, but are keeping those wounds open and therefore contribute to dividing and hurting us as a people. That is why I favor moving these monuments to a battlefield or museum.” —Carol Love, Raleigh.
“I OPPOSE the relocation of the monuments. As a Northerner, born and raised, and moved to the Piedmont in 1998, it’s appalling that this is even being considered. This is AMERICAN HISTORY.” —John Shea, Liberty.
“Confederate monuments have no place in the public forum. Their existence on (UNC) grounds and on the statehouse’s grounds constitutes discrimination and an ahistorical narrative of the Civil War. These monuments have no use to the public — not in historical education, not in remembrance, certainly not in bringing people together.” —Maya Little, Carrboro.
“I am a 58-year-old black man who moved from Philadelphia, Pa., to Raleigh in 1999. My place of employment for 15 years has been on the Fayetteville Street Mall ... I’ve read the inscriptions numerous times because I could never really grasp the nerve and ‘in-your-face’ racial insensitivity before me ... Monuments, such as the ones in question may have a place in history — but they need to be in museums for educational purposes.” —Darryl McKenzie, Youngsville.
“I believe that the public would be best served by relocating all the statues with the exception of the monument to the women left behind (the North Carolina Women of the Confederacy statue). I believe that it would be an additional atrocity to women as a whole if those women who had no voting rights and no voice during a time period when they were undervalued would no longer be recognized for their hardships. —Rebecca Brambila, Raleigh.
“I support the proposal to move several Confederate monuments to Bentonville Battlefield. The law states that memorials only be moved to locations with similar prominence, honor, visibility, availability, and access ... The statues are not honored in their current location. They are loathed, and detested, and spat upon where they now stand ... Secondly, the law states that one of the two allowed reasons for moving a memorial is to preserve the objects. Events in Durham have plainly shown that such monuments will clearly not last in areas where they are seen as unwelcome symbols of oppression. —Robert Simmons, Raleigh.
“As an African-American, please leave the monuments alone. It’s not even about the monuments, liberals in this country thrive off division and race ... I view these monuments as an education piece, an opportunity to inspire. We have to do better.” —Dennis Gordon, Elizabeth City.
“I have visited Bentonville Battlefield. It’s a wonderful historic site. But it’s out in the middle of nowhere, and I have never seen more than a handful of other visitors there. To relegate the monuments to such an obscure location is to remove them, and the lessons they teach, from the eye of the general public. Leaving them in place, but adding context, would be a worthy compromise and would serve to remind us of our past, allowing us to confront it, learn from it, and move forward together. There are also many creative ways to contextualize the monuments. —Katherine Meyer, Raleigh.
This story was originally published July 17, 2018 at 8:09 AM.