Bulloch County Commission hears opinions on Confederate monument (GA)

[struggle4progress]

osted: Jul 21, 2015 5:11 PM EDT
Updated: Jul 21, 2015 5:11 PM EDT
By Dal Cannady

... In Bulloch County, a Georgia Southern student asked commissioners to think about removing such a monument or adding something nearby. Both sides tried to sway a decision on Tuesday.

Bulloch County residents brought a range of opinions to county commissioners on what to do about the statue, whether to move it, leave it alone or add another statue with a different meaning to the courthouse square.

“Our board has always taken pride in gathering all the facts and information we can get before we make a decision, and I'm sure we'll treat this the same way,” said Commission Chairman Garret Nevil.

http://www.wtoc.com/story/29600188/bulloch-county-commission-hears-opinions-on-confederate-monument

[struggle4progress]

1. Statue issue revisited; no action

County commission hears more public input on Confederate monument
Posted: July 21, 2015 7:09 p.m.
Updated: July 21, 2015 7:05 p.m.
BY Holli Deal Saxon

Tuesday, Bulloch County commissioners once again heard citizens' views regarding a proposal to move a Confederate memorial statue from the county courthouse square, but still they took no action ...

Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans have said the statue does represent all races who died in the Civil War and should not offend anyone, as it honors a true history.

While the SCV "adopted" the statue, spending more than $20,000 to renovate it a few years ago, it does not belong to them nor the county, said Judy Womack, president of the Georgia division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Instead, she said, it belongs to the state division of the UDC, as the Bulloch County chapter of the group has dissolved. She asked commissioners Tuesday to leave the monument on the courthouse square because it would be expensive to move and because "such monuments are our legacy" ...

Adrianne McCollar pointed out that the statue was erected just five years after two black men were "dragged out of the courthouse, burned alive and hung" and that black citizens in the county likely did not feel then that the statue represented them at all. Many feel the same way today, she said ...

http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/69035/