What will happen to the Confederate monument in Columbus? There are 2 final options
A task force formed by Columbus’ mayor has settled on two proposals tied to the future of the city’s Confederate monument: Removal remains a distant possibility, but it’s much more likely that additional markers celebrating local Black history will be erected nearby.
Norman Hardman, Chair of the Mayor’s Commission on Unity, Diversity, and Prosperity and head of the monument task force, outlined portions of the proposal during a presentation to Columbus council members Tuesday evening and in an interview with the Ledger-Enquirer Wednesday.
The first option would see new monuments honoring four key figures, two men and two women, in Columbus Black history during the late 19th and early 20th centuries built at an estimated cost of $50,000. Among those already identified is Sarah Yarborough Allen, the first Black nurse hired at Columbus’ City Hospital, Hardman said.
The markers would be located at the median on 1st Avenue between 10th and 11th streets, about half a mile from the Confederate monument.
A funding source for the markers hasn’t been identified, but some or all of the funds could come from private donors, Mayor Skip Henderson said.
The second option would be removing the monument. Columbus’ Confederate monument, a shaft of white marble erected in 1879 by the Ladies Memorial Association in the median of the 700 block of Broadway, would cost an estimated $150,000 to remove.
Either option would likely require approval from the Columbus Council, Henderson said.
What’s stopping removal of the monument?
Removal would come with hurdles. A 2019 state law largely prevents the removal or relocation of Confederate monuments. However, a provision allows for “appropriate measures for the preservation, protection, and interpretation” of the monument.
The law also allows relocation for construction projects provided it’s relocated “to a site of similar prominence, honor, visibility and access.” A monument can’t be relocated to a museum, cemetery, or mausoleum unless it was originally placed at that location.
Confederate monuments in several Georgia cities have moved since the law passed.
Lawrenceville removed its monument from the courthouse square in February and placed it in storage after it was vandalized twice in 2020. The United Daughters of the Confederacy moved its monument of Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston from downtown Dalton to a nearby historic home. Athens started re-erecting its monument in a new spot in June after it was removed from its downtown location during construction projects.
Both Hardman and Henderson said removal was still on the table, but the option to erect Black history markers and leave the Confederate monument in place was the option being seriously considered.
Hardman said removing the monument “just doesn’t seem to be viable” and that adding new monuments instead could have a higher value for Columbus.
“Based on the state ordinance, the monument can be relocated but not removed. We believe this may add more cause for concern and a low return on investment,” he said. “Adding to Black history allows us to recognize those who powered through the Jim Crow era. This allows the city to recognize the social ills of the Confederate South, the Lost Cause mythology supported by our monument, and those who suffered through it.”
Wane Hailes, President of the Columbus NAACP, said he attended several early meetings of the monument task force. He told the Ledger-Enquirer that he still wants to see the monument removed, arguing that if Fort Benning is changing its name and removing its ties to Confederate figures, so too should Columbus.
“There’s a way around that state law. There’s always a way around that law, and that was discussed, too. If you want to do something, it can be done,” he said. “Other cities have done it. I don’t want to hear that. ...The monument should come down. It can come down.”
Other efforts to reckon with city’s past
Henderson formed the monument task force last summer amid nationwide protests highlighting racial inequality after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. Conversations around change involved Columbus’ Confederate monument.
“During that period of time when so much social unrest was taking place across the country, so many young voices and a very diverse group of voices were advocating for change and demanded to be heard. And that was a good thing,” Henderson said.
The monument proposals are part of the city’s larger efforts to reckon with past acts of racial terrorism. The city is also participating in The Equal Justice Initiative’s Community Remembrance Project to memorialize the victims of racial violence and foster local dialogue about race.
Historic Columbus Director Elizabeth Walden told the Ledger-Enquirer in June that she, local activist Johnnie Warner, members of the Mayor’s Commission on Diversity, Unity, and Prosperity and other supporters are working with the Equal Justice Initiative to pursue a historical marker near the intersection of Broadway and 11th Street in downtown Columbus to memorialize the June 1896 lynchings of Will Miles and Jesse Slayton.
Researchers with the Equal Justice Initiative have documented 4,075 racial terror lynchings of African Americans across the Southeast between 1877 and 1950. An interactive map maintained by the institute documents six reported lynchings in Muscogee County.
Hardman said soil could be collected from the county’s documented lynching sites by October as part of the project. The Equal Justice Initiative also sponsors a racial justice essay contest for public high school students as part of the historical marker program. That contest could begin in October.
The project’s next community conversation is set for Thursday from 6:30-8 p.m. and will focus on the gap between law enforcement and the community. Muscogee County Sheriff Greg Countryman, Columbus Police Chief Freddie Blackmon and Columbus State University police chief Laura Bennett will participate. The talk will air on the city government’s YouTube channel.
The monument installation and Community Remembrance Project ceremonies could take place in early 2022, Hardman said.
“This story is not about removing a monument,” Henderson said. “I think this story is about creating conversations and taking a look proactively at how we balance the story that’s told with that monument.”
For those interested in learning more about the Community Remembrance Project and other related efforts, contact Norman Hardman at normane.hardman@gmail.com
This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 2:46 PM.