Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Confederate Monument topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents, NAACP press Gaston County to relocate Confederate monument
Summary
Multiple speakers at the May 12 public comment period — including descendants of enslaved people, NAACP leaders and historians — urged the county to move the Confederate monument from the courthouse to a museum or cemetery and to confront the county's history.
Several residents used the public comment period on May 12 to urge Gaston County commissioners to remove the Confederate monument outside the courthouse and relocate it to a museum or graveyard.
Jessica Moreno told the board: "The Confederacy was built to uphold a system that depended on the labor and suffering of enslaved people. That's not an opinion. That's history." Dr. Tasha Prieto cited a 1912 newspaper account saying only white schoolchildren attended the statue's unveiling, arguing that the historical record undermines claims the monument honored all residents.
NAACP representatives framed the monument as part of a broader public-safety and civic-equity issue. Sean Bates, president of the Gastonia NAACP branch, said the group will press for changes at the ballot box and asked to be placed on a future agenda to discuss concrete options, including adding contextualization or adding a memorial for enslaved persons next to the monument.
Speakers tied the monument debate to broader concerns about county priorities, saying historic symbols matter to residents who also worry about school funding and public services. Commissioners listened and heard repeated calls for accountability, but no formal action on the monument was taken during the May 12 meeting; speakers requested that the issue be placed on a future agenda for board consideration.
