Growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana's Ledbetter Heights neighborhood, I would often walk with my mother through downtown to the local Fred's, McDonald's, or Woolworth stores. We would always stay on the sidewalk opposite the Caddo Parish Courthouse.

We never walked on the same side as this particular building, and I thought at first it was because of the obvious: too many times individuals with white hoods & robes surrounded the structure....

When I talked with my mother about it later (I was 14 years old), that's when I discovered that my mother was disturbed about the statue with the flags that sat on the courthouse grounds, celebrating those that "defended the cause of 1861-1865."

"The Cause" was Louisiana's foray into the Civil War. Politicians and plantation owners were concerned that legislature from the federal government was going to impact their cheapest business expense:  slave laborers.  So to protect their economy and way of life, Louisiana seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy, partnering with Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Confederate Arizona (which would now be southern New Mexico combined with southern Arizona).

Erected in 1905 and unveiled to the public in 1906, the monument is dedicated to those that fought with/for the Confederacy.  With that being said, the most fitting place for this monument would be in Greenwood Cemetery or Oakland Cemetery, sites of various Civil War plots specifically dedicated to those veterans.  An alternative location would be within the Louisiana State University Museum in Shreveport, Louisiana, where it would be protected from the natural elements currently experienced outside.

The reason this monument should be relocated from the Caddo Parish Courthouse is that no citizen should have to walk by an object that's in front of the main entrance to the courthouse, and wonder if they will get the equal justice & protection that the 14th amendment of the United States Constitution affords to us all.

At a time when social justice is at the forefront of media, sports, and social discussions, an object that supports the cause of discrimination is an affront to the legal freedoms that are supposed to be afforded to any race, gender, religion, or sexual preference.  

 The Caddo Parish Commission is fighting to have this statue removed and we are looking to help them with this in any way we can. Let's demand swift, precise action relocating the monument. Let's demand EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL!

"Remove The Knee From Caddo Parish's Neck. It's time for the Confederate monument to go."

photo by Stan Carpenter: Will James has performed street theatre selections since 2017 that advocates the removal & relocation of the Confederate Monument located at the Caddo Parish Courthouse.