Confederate statue dedicated to 'faithful slaves' targeted in class-action lawsuit [View all]

Source: msn/The Independent

12h


A federal lawsuit filed in Columbia, North Carolina is targeting a Confederate monument outside a courthouse that bears an inscription with the line "IN APPRECIATION OF OUR FAITHFUL SLAVES." The lawsuit is calling for that portion of the inscription to be removed or covered up.

“I just remember thinking that slaves had to be so-called faithful or they would be punished or even worse,” Sherryreed Robinson, one of the members of the lawsuit, told the New York Times. “As an adult, the words sitting on the grounds of a courthouse made me question whether Blacks could really receive justice there.”

Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled that a portion of the lawsuit could move forward. Tyrrell County officials have been resistant to taking action themselves, citing state monument protection laws that, they say, bars them from making any changes to the monument.

The challenge to the statue — which sits on the lawn of the Tyrrell County Courthouse — comes at a time when President Donald Trump and his administration are restoring Confederate names and monuments after many were demolished and destroyed during or in response to racial justice protests in 2020.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/confederate-statue-dedicated-to-faithful-slaves-targeted-in-class-action-lawsuit/ar-AA1KGQAo