Having a Confederate Memorial and Monument in our Cemetery since 1904 is not offensive to ALL residents of out multi-racial and multicultural community, whether they were aware of it's existence or not..or just recently discovered them.

Recent research has shown that the Confederate Memorial was privately funded and placed on a private plot. It has stood to watch over the Confederate soldiers who are buried near it's base.

Our town named Liberty, Mo. (since 1822) should have memorials and monuments in our Cemetery that acknowledge our history. Men have continued to die so we could have a country who values the LIBERTY to have FREEDOM of SPEECH and to HONOR and RESPECT our dead. Our history is uncomfortable for ALL sides. However, if we don't remember, learn and acknowledge our history, we are destined to repeat it.

Since 2007, Liberty, MO. has been designated a "Preserve America Community". The Preserve America Program is a White House effort to encourage and support communities that preserve and promote America's cultural and natural heritage. One of the goals of this program includes a "greater shared knowledge about the nation's past".

The Monument sits in our Cemetery, on a private plot, not the courthouse grounds, nor high traffic / prominent areas. Here people can reflect and yes grieve our past history, our country and yes family members.

Monuments are stone and metal. They are inanimate objects, so they can't intimidate. They are not publicly promoted as they sit quietly in an old Cemetery (plotted 1858) to remind us of our history. They are only offensive to those who choose to hate and forget. The offense is created by those who choose to make it a topic of division in our community.

This petition will hopefully encourage our Mayor and City Council to leave this old Confederate Monument and Memorials that are placed in the remote Fairview Cemetery, Liberty, Missouri  where they have been for over 116 years.

Thank you for standing up.