When I think about Historic Downtown Dyersburg, I think of home. I think of everything that’s been there for my entire life... the infamous court square.... the dome and clock atop the courthouse.... the Civil War cannon on the courthouse lawn.... and the (now infamous) Confederate Statue that stands tall guarding that grand building. To me and many many others, that’s part of our memories of home. It reminds us of the history of our town and our county. But with recent events this statue has come under attack. 
Some are saying it’s a constant reminder of racist beliefs and all the horrors that the Civil War was about. But I’ve never seen it that way. To me, just like every other war memorial on the square, it’s something that honors fallen soldiers from our hometown. It’s a reminder of how far we have come over the last 150 years. If you’ve done your research, you know the TRUTH of the Civil War and that it wasn’t solely about slavery. That it was more about fighting for rights. Now the material parts may have changed over the years, but somehow the fight has remained the same. And it has become apparent to me that instead of facing the facts of how far we have come, that certain people would rather erase any memory of it ever happening. The problem with that is that you can’t run from the past. At the Grand Opening of The National Museum of African American History & Culture, President George W Bush said this... “A great nation does not hide it’s history” by petitioning to remove statues it gives the impression that you are trying to hide the history of an amazing place so many of us call home. 

So here is my proposal. Let the statue stand tall right where it’s at!!! Don’t remove it. Don’t destroy it. Just leave it be! When you start removing certain aspects of the square, such as this statue, you begin removing the HISTORY from HISTORIC Downtown Dyersburg. And in turn, that just destroys our home. So instead of the idea that the statue instilling racist beliefs in the children of tomorrow, how about we start reinventing the way we view it. Looking at it as a symbol of everything we have grown from vs. a symbol of hate.

So now I’m calling on all citizens of Dyersburg and Dyer County (former and current) to take a moment and sign this petition to save the historic aspects of our hometown and all it was built from. Thanks in advance for all of your support!