COUNTY COMMISSION: Public shares views on Confederate monument

Published 6:00 am Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Former and current Limestone County residents spoke before the Limestone County Commission on Monday to share their views on the Confederate monument on the county courthouse lawn.

Some called for its relocation, with one saying the move was not to erase history but save it. Others said the statue was fine where it’s at, standing as a piece of history and a reminder of what Athens used to be.

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Garth Lovvorn was among those in the middle and stood as the first to speak at the commission meeting. He said he was born one block from The Square and lived three blocks from it today, and he wanted to suggest a compromise for commissioners.

“I know we’ve got a lot of issues with people here, citizens black and white, that have gone through hard times in the past,” Lovvorn said. “… What I want to do is keep the progression of history up there. Not take down any statue or monument, but build on that.”

He suggested minority groups in the area come together for a statue they feel should be added to The Square alongside the monuments.

Leigh Key said she didn’t care if other statues went up, so long as the one honoring those who died on the Confederate side of the Civil War stayed where it was. She said it was “one statue there, looking at all those who suffered through the Civil War trying to protect what they felt was right here in our part of the South.”

“We should look at this in light of the situation of what we’re trying to protect here from our heritage and keep that there as a reminder of what people have gone through,” Key said. “… I get times change, but we need to understand and respect the past.”

Zack Magnusson also spoke of the past in his comments supporting the statue staying where it is. He said his ancestry went back before Alabama becoming a state and included Confederate soldiers. He named six soldiers, in fact, saying each of those on his list had a descendant in the room.

“Think of the men who did not survive and the people who did not exist because of it,” Magnusson said. “Think of how fortunate we are to be here.”

He reminded commissioners that they swore an oath to support the Constitution and laws of Alabama, noting the lack of legal means to move or alter the monument, calling on them “to do everything in your power to preserve and protect our ancestors’ monument, unmolested, where it now stands and has stood for 111 years.”

Save, don’t erase

History was also important to the other side. Madeline Burkhardt, an Athens native who returned to speak on behalf of relocating the statue, shared her research into the statue’s background, including how the first statue was moved because it looked whipped and how a second one was purchased by someone with ties to the Ku Klux Klan on the agreement that he could pick the poem on its base and move it to face northeast with its head held high.

She said their goal is to rehome the statue not only so it can be with other artifacts from that time period, but so that it can be better kept.

“What we’re wanting to do is rehome him, fix the crack in the base, put an educational plaque with it and have him in a better home, to fully complete the narrative of the Civil War, Athens’ involvement with it and so forth,” Burkhardt said.

She said in a museum or cemetery, preservationists like herself can maintain the statue. She noted a crack in the base of the statue where it stands now, as well as an event earlier this year in which a tree fell on the courthouse lawn and nearly took the statue out.

“We’re not trying to erase history at all,” Burkhardt said. “We’re trying to save it.”

Lindsay Sims, a local educator and District 2 resident, said she was the one who first started the gofundme to raise the funds to cover any fine associated with relocating the statue. She said Athens must take action to “educate and unify in order to better our community.”

“I am who I am because of my heritage,” Sims said, noting the long line of Athenians in her family and the prominence of her last name in the community. “This campaign was not born of resentment or hatred for our county. It was born of an immense respect and true love for it.”

She said she was there on behalf of every student and child in the city. The gofundme, which has raised more than $12,000 toward its $27,000 goal, also features educational resources for people of any age who wish to learn more about the statue, its background and what other places are doing about the monuments in their areas.

“The very first call I got on this matter was from a 12-year-old child asking for my standpoint and asking for a ride to a peaceful protest,” Sims said. “If you don’t believe that our children aren’t watching, they are.”

Others who spoke in favor of moving the statue called it a step for equality and progress, an acknowledgement of the statue’s effect on families looking to move to the area and a way to grow the community in a positive way.

“We have seen and heard the comments that we are trying to erase the history, and I can assure you that is the furthest from the truth,” Blake Sulcer told commissioners. “We simply want every human being that walks by or drives through our beautiful hometown to see the true progress and equality we have all fought so hard for.”

Commissioners respond

All told, 11 people voiced their opinion on the Confederate monument during the public comments section of Monday’s meeting. Commissioners said they expected the crowd and were grateful to hear from them, with a few saying if anything, they were surprised there were so few.

“I honestly expected more,” District 1 Commissioner Daryl Sammet told The News Courier after the meeting.

Sammet said he had received comment from several of his constituents on either side of the issue, and he was willing to look at any suggestions constituents had for the courthouse lawn moving forward. Other commissioners echoed his sentiment.

“I don’t know yet what the commission will do — if there’s anything we’ll do — but I appreciate all the comments,” District 2 Commissioner Steve Turner said during the meeting.

District 3 Commissioner Jason Black said no matter how the issue is put to bed, there will be people upset with the decision. Many stuck around after the meeting to discuss their views without a 3-minute time limit, and each commissioner said they would gladly welcome additional feedback in the days ahead.

“Don’t get discouraged. Don’t get upset,” Black said. “Don’t choose something, and if it doesn’t work, you just give up. There might be another opening you go through that turns out to be a better deal than you thought.”

That other opening could include adding other monuments to represent other monuments from Limestone County’s history, or voicing concerns at the state level in the hopes of getting legislation changed. A statue honoring Judge James E. Horton, who infamously set aside a guilty verdict against one of the Scottsboro Boys, a group of nine black youths accused of raping two white women on a train, was placed on the west side of the Limestone County Courthouse in 2017.

Because the statue is so new, the law protecting the Confederate monument from being altered or moved does not protect the Horton statue. District 4 Commissioner Ben Harrison said he “was highly in favor” of the Horton statue being added to The Square and just as firm a believer that if someone wants the Confederate monument moved, they should go through the proper channels — above the commission’s head — to do it.

“That’s where it should be addressed,” Harrison said. “It’s not an option to just say, ‘Hey, we’ll pay the fine’ and move it, because we’ll be violating the law. You need to follow the proper procedures, if that’s the objective.”

Commission Chairman Collin Daly agreed.

“I took this office and put my hand on the Bible and raised my hand to uphold the law,” he said during the meeting. “The law right now on the monument says it’s protected. If the legislature changes on the law, we’ll worry about that when it comes around.”

Daly and the commissioners each said they were open to a vote on the matter appearing on a future agenda, though most said it would be up to someone else to get it on that agenda. Sammet said even without a law deciding for them, it would be unlikely that the commissioners come to a unanimous agreement one way or the other on the matter.