Local NAACP leader urges removal of Confederate statue outside courthouse in Robeson County
More than 100 Confederate monuments are still scattered across North Carolina. Some people have called to have them removed, but others feel strongly they should stay.
One specific Confederate statue at the Robeson County courthouse has become the center of a debate, with the leader of the NAACP making a plea to commissioners to remove the statue, saying it idolizes a dark history.
The statue is hard to miss when you pass the courthouse. It looms tall over the front steps, the words "Our Confederate Dead" carved in the stone. A Confederate soldier is perched on the obelisk, which features the likeness of a Confederate flag.
Reverend Tyrone Watson, president of the Robeson County NAACP, says it does not belong here.
"What it suggests to me, and what it suggest to a lot of other citizens in the county, is that Robeson County is in agreement with what the Confederacy stood for," he says.
The history of the Confederate monument
The monument was erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1907, over 40 years after the war had ended.
Newspaper clippings from the May 13 issue of the local newspaper, called The Robesonian, describe "carriages, buggies, wagons, carts, automobiles, wheels and every kind of vehicle" pulling up for the ceremony.
Confederate veterans attended the ceremony, according to the author, describing "some who received life-long injuries" and others who were "bent with age" after the Civil War in the 1860s. The article, which celebrated the monument, wrote that it was meant as "a hearty handshake to those who still linger."
Governor Glenn spoke at the ceremony, praising the men who fought for the South in the Civil War. A copy of the newspaper clipping can be found here.
It had to be cleaned in 2017 after vandals targeted it.
A request to relocate, not destroy
Some locals feel the monument standing in a public space like a courthouse, where people of all races and backgrounds go to seek justice and equality, gives the impression the local government supports the Confederacy.
At a county commissioners meeting Monday, Watson and two other speakers urged the board to relocate the statue.
"We're not asking them to destroy the statue, because it is part of history. It is part of the people of Robeson County's heritage," says Watson.
However, not all commissioners agree with what to do with the statue. At least two have expressed opposition, saying they are not sure commissioners have the legal authority to remove the monument.
Commissioner Tom Taylor said, "It's not bothering anybody" and that he doesn't believe the statue has anything to do with race.
Another commissioner, David Edge, said, "I don't think it represents what they feel it represents." He opposes its removal.
Watson says he wanted to wait until tensions eased after the death of George Floyd, when efforts to remove Confederate symbols reached a fevered pitch. He feels a monument outside a public courthouse should be a statue everyone can find honor in.
"If there's gonna be a monument there, it should be something everyone could be proud of, everyone can look to and honor," he said.
The Robeson County commissioners took no action on the issue last night.
The NAACP and the Council on American-Islamic Relations are urging commissioners to vote on removing the monument.
