carolinapublicpress.org – Lucas Thomae – 2025-03-03 12:25:00

Despite outcry, NC town’s Confederate monument is staying put. For the moment.

by Lucas Thomae, Carolina Public Press
March 3, 2025

After a secret agreement to relocate a controversial Confederate monument fell through, the Edenton Town Council and Chowan County are back to the drawing board.

This time, though, it’s in the public eye.

Even so, the five residents who sued over their right to have a say in the monument’s fate aren’t satisfied with the town’s attempt at transparency, their attorney told Carolina Public Press.

According to a lawsuit filed in January by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the Edenton Town Council broke open meetings law when it quietly negotiated a deal with Chowan County and several neo-Confederate groups to transfer ownership of the monument to the county and relocate it to the courthouse.

As a part of that deal, three neo-Confederate groups agreed to settle a separate lawsuit they filed against the town that has prevented the monument’s relocation since 2022. They have since backed out, and that lawsuit is still pending with a hearing scheduled for April.

Arguments over the fate of the monument, which was first erected in 1909, have been ongoing since Edenton first considered relocating it in 2020.

Although estimates can vary, it’s believed that North Carolina has at least 40 Confederate monuments in front of courthouses and roughly 170 such symbols statewide.

Usually, efforts in towns and cities to get them removed or relocated don’t come without a fight. And invariably, those disagreements often wind up in court.

A few years ago in Edenton, a town-created commission comprised of residents recommended that the monument be relocated from the historic waterfront. The town took that recommendation seriously but has been met by obstacles at each attempt to find a compromise.

Now, it appears that deadlock will continue.

A deal is undone

In early February, the town notified Chowan County that it and the neo-Confederate groups who sued to keep the monument in place could not reach a resolution to the lawsuit.

With the collapse of the initial deal, town and county officials sought a new path forward — this time with public input.

A week ago, the Edenton Town Council held a special joint meeting with the Chowan County Board of Commissioners with the intention of dissolving the memorandum of understanding from November and coming to a new agreement.

Edenton Mayor W. Hackney High Jr. acknowledged the lawsuit filed by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice during the meeting’s opening remarks and welcomed input from residents through a public comments session.

Twenty made speeches in front of local leaders, most of whom were against the monument and didn’t want it either downtown or on courthouse grounds. A few speakers voiced their support for keeping the monument in a prominent place.

One of the speakers was John Shannon, a local pastor who is one of the five plaintiffs in the Southern Coalition for Social Justice lawsuit. He was also a member of the town commission that recommended the monument be relocated.

“As of right now, every attempt to move the monument has been delayed, redirected or ignored,” Shannon said. “I hope that one day soon the recommendation from the (town commission) will be considered as a move in the right direction to better the relationships of all the citizens in Edenton.”

Despite having the opportunity to share their misgivings about the town council’s plan, a spokeswoman with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice told CPP she’s worried Edenton officials won’t take residents seriously.

“We are concerned that this meeting is a hollow attempt to check a box when it comes to hearing public input,” Sarah Ovaska said, “and not a sincere attempt to consider the wishes of the community.”

‘The right road’

After an hour of public comments, the town unanimously adopted a new memorandum of understanding.

The agreement closely mirrors the previous memorandum adopted in November — except it cuts out the neo-Confederate groups as a signatory, meaning their endorsement is not required for this new deal — and slightly changes the language describing where on the courthouse grounds the monument is to be relocated.

In this version of the deal, the transfer of the monument to Chowan County and its relocation to the courthouse will only take effect once the lawsuit involving the neo-Confederate groups is dismissed by a judge.

And there’s precedent for that. In March 2024, the state Supreme Court ruled that a neo-Confederate group did not have the standing to sue over Asheville’s decision to remove a Confederate monument. 

Edenton expects the judge to rule similarly here.

But although the Edenton Town Council adopted the new memorandum of understanding with little discussion, Chowan County officials were more apprehensive.

The Board of Commissioners decided to table the issue and vote on it sometime after considering the public comments and consulting with legal counsel.

“I would like to think that this Board of Commissioners really needs to think hard and have a good discussion with our counsel,” Vice Chairman Larry McLaughlin said. “My reservations are if we take this monument, then we are stuck with any court cases coming up and the cost associated with that, and all the other rigamarole that we’ve been through. So my reservation is to be cautious to make sure that we’re going down the right road.”

Representatives from neither the town nor the county responded to CPP’s request for comment.

Additionally, the United Daughters of the Confederacy — one of the groups that sued to keep the monument in place during 2023 — also did not respond to a request for comment.

Confederate monument lawsuit continues

The lawsuit filed in January by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice takes issue not only with how the town’s business was conducted, but also the proposal that the monument be moved to a courthouse.

Along with the claim that the town violated open meetings law, the suit also asserts that having a Confederate statue on courthouse grounds would violate the plaintiffs’ rights under the state constitution.

That is something the town did not address in last week’s special meeting, opting instead to continue to move forward with relocating the monument.

Holding a public meeting just to vote on a similar deal shows that the town is not serious about taking residents’ comments into account, according to plaintiffs’ attorney Jake Sussman.

“The fate of Edenton’s Confederate monument has already been decided,” he said, referring to the town’s commitment nearly two years ago to relocate the statue. “As our lawsuit makes clear, however, following through cannot involve moving it to the county courthouse. That would be a huge step back for the community and North Carolina.”

This article first appeared on Carolina Public Press and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The post Confederate monument in Edenton will remain in place for now appeared first on carolinapublicpress.org

www.youtube.com – WYFF News 4 – 2025-03-03 07:03:46

SUMMARY: Today’s top news includes windy, dry conditions leading to wildfires in the Carolinas, particularly near Myrtle Beach, with a state of emergency declared by South Carolina Governor McMaster and a statewide burn ban in place. Meanwhile, discussions continue regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, with European leaders backing Ukraine amid criticism from the Trump administration. In economic news, increased tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China will soon affect consumer prices. Additionally, a shooting at a Greenville shopping center involved a domestic dispute, and the Girl Scouts addressed comments made by podcast host Joe Rogan regarding their cookies.

Morning Headlines 3/3

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www.youtube.com – WYFF News 4 – 2025-03-01 07:50:17

SUMMARY: Recent days have featured plenty of sunshine and ideal weather for outdoor activities. However, the dry conditions, low humidity, and strong winds prompted wind alerts and fire weather warnings until 10 PM today. Winds may reach 30 mph with temperatures in the 60s to lower 70s. Tomorrow, winds will diminish, but temperatures will drop to the low to mid-50s while remaining sunny. A significant weather change is expected mid-week, with a new system likely bringing beneficial rain and possible thunderstorms on Tuesday night into Wednesday. Overall, expect dry weather continuing until Thursday.

Remaining dry and windy

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