The discussion of the Confederate monument and oak tree...
Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Monticello and Jefferson County aren't being spared the calls for removal of Confederate monuments and other iconic symbols that have been sweeping across the country in the wake of George Floyd's killing and other instances of overt racism in recent months.
Listed on the Jefferson County Commission's agenda for the virtual meeting of Thursday evening, July 16, is an item titled “Citizen Request to discuss the removal of the monument on the Courthouse Square.”
The request is aimed at the Confederate monument on the north side of the courthouse.
Erected in 1899 by the Ladies Memorial Association of Jefferson County, the flag-draped marble obelisk memorial is typical of a common Civil War motif in the South.
Inscribed on the memorial are the words: “Let this testimonial of woman's deathless fidelity to man's imperishable valor speak to the sons and daughters of this southland for all time to come. Let this mute but eloquent marble, testify to the enduring hardness of that living human wall of Florida soldiery that stood during four long years of pitiless war – a barrier between our homes and an invading foe. Let the young southern, as he gazes upon this shaft, remember how gloriously Florida's sons illustrated their sunny land on the red fields of carnage, and how woman - fair and faithful - freshens the glory of their fame.”
Carved on the front side of the memorial are the initials “C.S.A”, which stands for Confederate States of America, and the words “Our Fallen Heroes”.
Citizens interested in participating in commissioners' discussion of the issue can do so via Zoom, for which the meeting code and password will be provided by County Coordinator Parrish Barwick via email closer to the meeting day.
City officials, meanwhile, are also facing calls for the removal of a living icon that some see as another symbol of oppression and darker days – the live oak on the southwest corner of the courthouse circle.
At the telephonic meeting of the Monticello City Council on Tuesday evening, July 7, a citizen who identified himself as Stephen Frazier asked to be put on the agenda for the council's next meeting to discuss the tree.
Frazier said that he and his co-chair had a petition with some 1,200 signatures calling for the removal of the oak, which he said had a negative image and was variously referred to as “the hanging tree” or “the meeting tree.”
Although currently a citizen of Colorado Springs, Colo., Frazier said he had grown up in Monticello and still had family here.
He said the removal of the tree was warranted in light of the events that were unfolding around the country in the wake of the George Floyd killing and the underlying systemic racism that underpinned it.
Councilman Troy Avera begged to differ. He offered that the story of the live oak as a hanging tree was one that he believed was misconstrued and that had gained currency and been promulgated by the promoters of the popular ghost tours.
“I'm not sure that the story is correct,” Avera said. “ I also have an issue with killing any living thing, given that we're a city that protects heritage trees. This request goes against all that, unless there's a compelling reason to do it.”
Frazier said he respectfully disagreed with Avera. The tree, he said, was well known for the hangings that had taken place there on certain days.
“I'm looking at it for the negative image it represents,” Frazier said. “And if it was a meeting place for Confederate soldiers, it still needs to be removed.”
Mayor John Jones was the only other official to offer comment.
Jones said that he had made an effort to know the community since returning from his military service in 1992 and he had never heard of the oak being used as a hanging tree. Nor did his mother remember such a history, and she was 95 and had lived her entire life in Monticello, he said.
The way the issue was left, the council agreed to list the item on the agenda for discussion on its meeting of Tuesday evening, August 4.
Calls for the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials – which many see as emblems of heritage and regional pride and others associate with slavery, Jim Crow and the violent resistance to the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 60s – have been ebbing and flowing for decades.
The calls for removal, however, have gained urgency and momentum in recent years, spurred by high-profile incidents such as the mass shooting at a black church in Charleston, S.C., in 2015; the Unite the Right rally of white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017; and the videoed police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis earlier this year for allegedly using a counterfeit bill.
Since the Floyd case, the calls for removal have accelerated, with protesters toppling statues in many cities across the country and other statutes being removed by the governing authorities.
According to the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks such matters, the United States, as of 2016, had at least 1,503 symbols of the Confederacy in public places, including 109 public schools that were named after prominent Confederates – many with large African-American student populations – and more than 700 Confederate monuments and statues on public property throughout the country, the vast majority in the South.
You must be logged in to post a comment.