Everyone in our Floyd community should feel welcomed and respected in our public spaces. Our Floyd County courthouse should be a place that upholds every citizen’s rights to equal justice under the law. Confederate monuments were placed strategically across the South more than half a century after the Civil War’s end, to intimidate Black people in public and government spaces during the era of Jim Crow segregation. Today, these statues serve as painful daily reminders that racism is embedded in American society. Floyd’s own confederate monument was placed in 1904, one of over 50 identical statues erected in courthouse lawns across Virginia. This “common soldier” statue does not serve to educate the community about Floyd’s specific and complex historical role in the civil war, therefore it is not an accurate representation of our heritage.

A symbol that can be interpreted by anyone as a form of intimidation or discrimination has no place at a government building. The public placement of Floyd’s Confederate monument is, or should be, offensive to all members of the Floyd community. It is time for it to be removed from our courthouse lawn.

As of July 1, 2020, it is within the jurisdiction of our local government to vote for the statue’s removal. This petition will make the wishes of our community known to our county representatives, who are legally elected to represent us. It is our responsibility to hold them accountable to take action towards a more racially equitable Floyd. 

We, Floyd Community Action for Racial Equity, ask for your support in the removal of this racist memorial.

Sign this petition to show your support for the removal of the Confederate monument from the Floyd County Courthouse lawn.