What Should Rockville, County Do With Confederate Statue?

Even as Rockville city leaders invited residents to a discussion about what to do with town’s Confederate soldier monument, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett ordered its removal.

Confederate flags and memorials are seen as a reminder of Southern heritage by some, while African-Americans have often said the legacy is one of slavery and hate.

The battle flag image came increasing scrutiny after Dylann Roof killed nine African-American churchgoers on June 17 during a Bible study in a Charleston, S.C. church. Images widely distributed of Roof show him holding a confederate flag, and he reportedly told authorities he was attempting to start a race war.

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Rockville leaders held a work session Monday night to discuss possible options for the Confederate soldier monument that sits near the Red Brick Courthouse in Rockville Town Center. With Leggett’s order on Friday that the statue be removed, Monday’s meeting shifted to where the memorial might land, reports WTOP.

Dalwin Williams, who is African-American, disagreed with the order to remove the memorial.

“Nobody is proud of their entire history. We all have chapters in our history we’re ashamed of, but has anybody suggested we close down the Holocaust Museum or not finish the Black American History Museum on the Mall? No!” Williams said.

Residents disagreed on what the statue means, and how to remember the history associated with the Confederacy.

“By eradicating history we don’t want to hear or see means we have yet to heed those lessons which history serves to teach,” said a local historian, reports FOX DC.

“To relocate or remove any Confederate monuments is the surrender to the roots of the world who so pollute our society with their repugnant and toxic vitriol,” said another resident.

And Congressman Chris Van Hollen, who represents the area, also weighed in with a statement urging the statue’s immediate removal.

In a letter to Rockville Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton and the City Council, Van Hollen said he stands “with County Executive Leggett in supporting immediate action to remove the statue from the lawn. Beyond the Confederate battle flag, there is no place for other symbols of a shameful era of institutionalized racism in public spaces – including the statue near the Red Brick Courthouse.”