Moving NC Confederate statue ‘smacks of ethnic genocide,’ woman says ahead of protest
Removing Confederate statues, including the one outside the Gaston County Courthouse in Gastonia, “smacks of ethnic genocide,” a spokeswoman for a group against the monument’s removal said.
The unnamed granite soldier stands 30 feet tall and looks out at a street renamed several years ago for Martin Luther King Jr.
Gaston County commissioners voted 6-1 on Monday to give the Confederate monument to the local Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter and have the county pay to move it to another location.
A majority of the commissioners had previously agreed — without a formal vote — to request that County Attorney Jonathan Sink ask local members of the General Assembly to help place the issue on a ballot for voters to decide, the Observer reported.
In a statement announcing a planned peaceful protest at the statue Saturday, Lisa Rudisill compared what’s happening in the South to Afghanistan, “where the Taliban blew up ancient monuments considered part of national and international history — UNESCO World Heritage sites which should not be damaged.”
Rudisill said Confederate statues are likewise historic and should be preserved.
“If YOUR son died in a war he was drafted to fight, would you want his memory to be defamed?” Rudisill said. “That’s barbaric.”
Demands to remove Confederate monuments have occurred nationwide in recent months, prompted by widespread protests for the Black Lives Matter movement and against police brutality in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by Minnesota police.
Many see the monuments as symbols of racism and white domination.
Saturday’s demonstration by supporters of keeping the statue at the courthouse is scheduled for 1 p.m.
“All public are invited to participate as long as they follow proper social distancing rules, wear masks and remain peaceful in expressing their opinions,” the pro-Confederate monument statement said.
This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 2:23 PM.