Protesters Could Be Charged for Bringing Down Durham, N.C., Confederate Statue
BY JESSICA SCHLADEBECK
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, August 15, 2017, 10:22 AM
Authorities in Durham, N.C., are working to identify those behind the “removal and vandalism” of a Confederate statue built by the same defunct company behind several other similar monuments across the south.
Sheriff Mike Andrews in a statement Tuesday morning said he was relieved no one was injured as protesters toppled the Confederate Soldiers monument on Monday.
“Collectively, we decided that restraint and public safety would be our priority. As the sheriff, I am not blind to the offensive conduct of some demonstrators nor will I ignore their criminal conduct,” he said.
“With the help of video captured at the scene, my investigators are working to identify those responsible for the removal and vandalism of the statue.”
He continued on to emphasize “racism and incivility” would not be allowed to continue in the county.
Protesters on Monday gathered outside the Durham County Courthouse. Several in the crowd climbed a ladder and used a yellow strap to pull down the Civil War monument, which they called a symbol of racism.
Boasting the inscription, “In memory of the boys who wore gray,” the Confederate Soldiers Monument in Durham County was dedicated in May 1924 and produced by the now-defunct McNeel Marble Company.
Once based in Marietta, Ga., the marble company billed itself as “the largest monumental plant in the south,” according to Carol Morris Little’s “A Comprehensive Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in Texas.” There is also a Confederate Soldier statue in Georgetown, Texas, produced by the McNeel Marble Company in 1916.
There are similar statues in Macon County, Ga., Alamance and Pasquotank counties in North Carolina as well outside government buildings in Arkansas and Virginia. The marble company, which was liquidated in 1965, is behind several other Confederate monuments across several Southern states.
Such statues have become points of controversy, capturing headlines in recent months as activist call for the removal of Confederate monuments on the grounds that they are symbols of hate and racism. They’ve received pushback from those who believe removing such monuments is an erasure of Southern history.
The incident in Durham County on Monday was in part sparked by the deadly white nationalist rally in Virginia over the weekend.
Thousands descended on the city of Charlottesville for a planned event scheduled Aug. 12 to protest the city council’s vote to remove a monument of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a public area. The memorial in Emancipation Park — recently renamed from Lee Park — was the site of a similar protest in May.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, August 15, 2017, 10:22 AM
Authorities in Durham, N.C., are working to identify those behind the “removal and vandalism” of a Confederate statue built by the same defunct company behind several other similar monuments across the south.
Sheriff Mike Andrews in a statement Tuesday morning said he was relieved no one was injured as protesters toppled the Confederate Soldiers monument on Monday.
“Collectively, we decided that restraint and public safety would be our priority. As the sheriff, I am not blind to the offensive conduct of some demonstrators nor will I ignore their criminal conduct,” he said.
“With the help of video captured at the scene, my investigators are working to identify those responsible for the removal and vandalism of the statue.”
He continued on to emphasize “racism and incivility” would not be allowed to continue in the county.
Protesters on Monday gathered outside the Durham County Courthouse. Several in the crowd climbed a ladder and used a yellow strap to pull down the Civil War monument, which they called a symbol of racism.
Boasting the inscription, “In memory of the boys who wore gray,” the Confederate Soldiers Monument in Durham County was dedicated in May 1924 and produced by the now-defunct McNeel Marble Company.
Once based in Marietta, Ga., the marble company billed itself as “the largest monumental plant in the south,” according to Carol Morris Little’s “A Comprehensive Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in Texas.” There is also a Confederate Soldier statue in Georgetown, Texas, produced by the McNeel Marble Company in 1916.
There are similar statues in Macon County, Ga., Alamance and Pasquotank counties in North Carolina as well outside government buildings in Arkansas and Virginia. The marble company, which was liquidated in 1965, is behind several other Confederate monuments across several Southern states.
Such statues have become points of controversy, capturing headlines in recent months as activist call for the removal of Confederate monuments on the grounds that they are symbols of hate and racism. They’ve received pushback from those who believe removing such monuments is an erasure of Southern history.
The incident in Durham County on Monday was in part sparked by the deadly white nationalist rally in Virginia over the weekend.
Thousands descended on the city of Charlottesville for a planned event scheduled Aug. 12 to protest the city council’s vote to remove a monument of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a public area. The memorial in Emancipation Park — recently renamed from Lee Park — was the site of a similar protest in May.
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