County To Sever Ties With Historic Latta Over Event Controversy

CHARLOTTE, NC — Mecklenburg County is ending its working relationship with the museum organization that runs Latta House in Huntersville at the end of the month, the county's top parks and recreation official told commissioners Tuesday. The news comes less than a week after the abrupt cancellation of a controversial Juneteenth event at Historic Latta Plantation and one day after the Town of Huntersville said any upcoming financial contributions to the museum program this year will be on hold pending an investigation into the event.

Mecklenburg County owns the 1,400-acre Latta Nature Preserve and partners with Historic Latta, a non-profit organization that leases a portion of the land from the county to manage and conduct interpretive programming for the Historic Latta House and the land immediately surrounding it.

SEE ALSO: Latta Plantation Faces Backlash For 'Racist' Juneteenth Event

Historic Latta Plantation advertised the June 19 "Kingdom Coming" event as one sympathetic to the plight of "white refugees" following the end of slavery. The event was abruptly canceled Friday after backlash from Mecklenburg County government officials and complaints from the community that it was racist.

June 19 is the annual celebration of Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States.

The event description read:
"Come out to Historic Latta Plantation for a one-night event, Saturday, June 19, 2021. You will hear stories from the massa himself who is now living in the woods. Federal troops (Yankees) have him on the run and his former bondsmen have occupied his home and are now living high on the hog. Hear how they feel about being freedmen. The overseer is now out of a job. What will he do now that he has no one to oversee from can see to can't see? White refugees have been displaced and have a story to tell as well. Confederate soldiers who will be heading home express their feelings about the downfall of the Confederacy."

Fallout from the event has been swift.

"We have zero tolerance for programs that do not embrace equity and diversity," Mecklenburg County’s Parks and Recreation Director Lee Jones told county commissioners Tuesday evening. As soon as county officials learned of this program, it was canceled, he said.

Mecklenburg County officials then reviewed the agreement with Historic Latta and determined, "the violations were an opportunity for us to think about how we wanted to move forward," Jones said.

Tuesday, Jones notified Historic Latta leadership in a letter that the county would not be renewing the lease when it expired June 30.

SEE ALSO: Huntersville's Latta Plantation Funding On Hold Amid Controversy

Following the event's cancellation, the Town of Huntersville said it was pausing any future financial support of the facility.

"The Huntersville Board of Commissioners has supported Latta Plantation in the past with an annual contribution," the town said. "Funding for the new fiscal year will remain on hold pending further investigations into the facts surround this program."

In 2019, the Town of Huntersville gave Latta Plantation $15,000 from proceeds from a tourism tax fund. Last year, the town gave $20,000. For fiscal year 2021, the museum requested a $20,000 contribution from the town.

"I disagreed with the tone of the initial message from the Latta Plantation invite, and I think further discussion needs to be had between the town and the executive director before the town would commit any additional funding," Huntersville Mayor John Aneralla told Patch Monday.

SEE ALSO: Biden Signs Bill Making Juneteenth A National Holiday: Replay

Over the weekend, Historic Latta Plantation's site manager, Ian Campbell, issued a lengthy statement lashing out at the media and defending the event programming he said he had a hand in creating. "To the masses on social media and politicians, no apology will be given for bringing a unique program to educate the public about former slaves becoming FREE!" said Campbell, who is Black.

"Many people complained about Historic Latta not doing anything for Juneteenth. Then when I create a unique event to highlight our successful struggle out of slavery, there is backlash from many who have never visited our historical site. William T. Sherman had a dislike for the media of his day," Campbell said. "I understand what he may have been going through."

[Patch note: Sherman is widely credited with having said, "If I had my choice, I would kill every reporter in the world, but I am sure we would be getting reports from hell before breakfast."]

Campbell's entire statement may be read here.