Things have been quiet since the last push in 2020 during the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement.
For the last seven years the Committee for Justice, Equality, and Fairness have been speaking out against the Confederate flag and monument being on county property.
“It harkens back to the Confederacy in a time when people of color were not dealt with justly. That message continues at the current time. We believe that it’s impossible for a person of color to receive justice, equal justice in a courthouse that has a Confederate flag and monument on the courthouse lawn” Chair of Committee Mike Bowden said.
The monument and flag have been a point of contention for years. The local committee has been fighting for the removal for seven years.
In 2018, the county held a referendum to remove the flag and monument from the courthouse. 65% of the voters voted to keep it.
In 2020, a protest against the monument and flag turned disorderly. Shortly after, the county commission voted to keep the monument and flag.
Victoria Crystal’s ancestors were slaves.
“That puts a different spin on it for me, you know, and it would that’s the thing that says to me, just destroy it would break it up into a tiny thousand yea know But on the other hand, I don’t know why they are proud of their ancestors fighting in this war, but they are,” Victoria Crystal who serves as the media relations for the committee said.
Instead of destroying, the committee is trying to compromise.
“That’s the thing that they need to remember is that we’re not trying to destroy, we’re saying relocate, let’s find some common ground here but don’t just dismiss us, we are also Walton County,” Crystal said.
Committee members are partnering with nationwide organizations to have more allies and spread their message to more people.
“We’ve partnered with the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has most recently provided us a grant to fund posting billboards to educate and help people join us in our efforts to remove the Confederate flag,” Bowden said.
They’re also planning to return to the commission sometime this Spring and ask for the monument and flag to be removed.
The monument was built around 1871. It was the first of its kind in the state of Florida.
Ongoing efforts to ‘Move the Monument’ in Walton County
WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – The effort to remove the Confederate monument and flag from the Walton County Courthouse rises and falls like the tide. Things have been quiet since the last push…
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