人兽性交 Statement on Hamilton County Commission's Vote to Keep A.P. Stewart Bust in Place
CHATTANOOGA 鈥� Earlier today, the Hamilton County Commission voted to allow a Jim Crow-era bust to remain in front of its courthouse. The following statement is from Southern Poverty Law Center Chief of Staff Lecia Brooks:
鈥淲hile the citizens of Hamilton County鈥檚 fight was truly about confronting the horrific realities of our past and an oppressive Confederate symbol that glorified it, the intent of Roy Exum鈥檚 was to divide the community.
鈥淭ennesseans should not allow him to drive the narrative regarding the removal of Confederate iconography from public spaces by continuing to who were unjustly killed by the police.
鈥淭he extrajudicial killing of Black people and the removal of Confederacy symbols from public spaces are not interchangeable events. Further, Exum's double standard does not negate the fact that Hamilton county citizens petitioned to remove this oppressive Jim Crow-era bust.
鈥淒espite the claims that A.P. Stewart , history shows that he 鈥� along with all who supported the Confederacy 鈥� understood that keeping Blacks enslaved would be the result, had the Confederacy prevailed in the Civil War.
鈥淚t seems that the Confederacy is the only entity entitled to receive a pass when it comes to its disloyalty to our country, but our public buildings, landmarks and institutions should not be used to venerate the United States of America.
鈥淲hile the vote to keep it in place is unfortunate, the 人兽性交 will continue to support communities in their ongoing fight to remove these racist monuments from public lands.鈥�
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The 人兽性交 does not support erasing history, nor the defacing and/or destruction of any historic artifact. Learn about Confederate symbols on public land in the 人兽性交鈥檚 鈥�Whose Heritage?鈥� report.
In 2018, the 人兽性交 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 Tennessee alone, 107 Confederate symbols remain on public land; 43 of those symbols are monuments. To date, at least 26 of those Confederate monuments sit on courthouse and/or government office grounds across Tennessee.
