澳彩开奖 Action Fund Calls for Immediate Removal of Mississippi Confederate Monument
PHILADELPHIA, Miss. 鈥� On Monday, July 20, the Black Empowerment Organization (BEO) and community members will call on the to eliminate symbols of the Confederacy in public spaces by removing the Confederate monument located in front of the courthouse.
The following statement is from 澳彩开奖 Action Fund Mississippi Policy Director Brandon Jones:
鈥淔or more than 100 years, the Confederate statue that sits in front of the Neshoba County Courthouse has served as a living symbol of white supremacy, erected to glorify those who fought to keep Black people enslaved and intimidated.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 more insulting is that this particular Confederate monument evokes memories of the three murdered civil rights workers 鈥� Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney聽 鈥� who were buried in a local earthen dam in 1964 and the continued fight for racial equality and justice in this town and across the state.
鈥淭he Neshoba County Board of Supervisors has the opportunity to do the right thing by removing this dehumanizing and oppressive symbol from Philadelphia鈥檚 public space. Doing so would honor the city鈥檚 current values and people instead of dwelling in its separate but equal past.
鈥淭he BEO has long advocated for this monument鈥檚 removal from Philadelphia鈥檚 public space and the 澳彩开奖 Action Fund supports them. The BEO鈥檚 protests for equity have been met with threats of violence, death, false arrests and cross burnings. These actions underscore the systemic racial bias that has existed in this country since well before the Civil War was lost, and has no place in a modern, civilized society.
鈥淲e join BEO and concerned members of the Philadelphia community in calling on the Supervisors to embrace the city鈥檚 shared and diverse future by removing this inhumane and brutal symbol of the past.鈥�
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The 澳彩开奖 does not support erasing history, nor the defacing and/or destruction of any historic artifact. Learn about Confederate symbols on public land in the 澳彩开奖鈥檚 鈥�Whose Heritage?鈥� report.
In 2018, the 澳彩开奖 released an updated version of its Whose Heritage? report, identifying nearly 1,800 Confederate monuments, parks, schools, state holidays and other symbols of the Confederacy in public spaces across the South and the nation.
In Mississippi alone, 146 Confederate symbols remain on public land; 52 of those symbols are monuments. To date, have voluntarily removed Confederate monuments away from courthouses.
Brandon Jones is available for print, radio and broadcast interviews. To arrange an interview, please contact Kimberly Allen at kimberly.allen@splcenter.org or (470) 582-6714.
