Good morning everyone,
First, THANK YOU for your tremendous support! One Community had a strong showing at Sunday's March Against Racism, and we had tremendous support at Monday's Board of Supervisors' meeting! Everyone who spoke in support of the statue's relocation did so with passion and grace under fire. We presented a petition with over 1,000 signatures--the vast majority from Halifax County or individuals with strong ties to the community. The many speakers made excellent points, and should the Board vote for the statue to stay, they cannot claim they didn't know, they weren't told, or that no one cares.
According to today's (Aug.6th) News & Record, the Board of Supervisors has called a special meeting on Monday, Aug. 10th at 6:30 pm to discuss what to do with the statue. The paper states the meeting will be in the 2nd-floor public meeting room at the Mary Bethune Complex. The notice does not state if they'll receive any more comments, but regardless I think it's important for us to be there. Communities all around us (Brunswick, Charlotte, Franklin, Prince Edward, etc) are talking through this issue, and each community has done something different. Franklin County is putting this on the ballot in November, but personally, that's not an option I'd like to see for Halifax. Putting this on the ballot opens the door for the will of the majority to override the rights of the minority--if we'd voted on Civil Rights we'd still have segregation.
Let's keep the pressure on. Keep writing and speaking to your board representative. Keep writing letters to the editor, and keep on praying! Find the contact info in the below links.
Board of Supervisors Contact Info
The Gazette-Virginian Contact Info