MacNeil Statue will not attend Secession Gala
By[For more recent news (Dec 21st) on the posting below see this link: The Star: Ball Draws Celebrators, Protestors ]
Hermon A. MacNeil’s Confederate Defenders statue may cast its shadow on upcoming Secession Gala festivities. MacNeil’s massive work stands sentry over Charleston Harbor, facing toward Ft Sumter, 3 1/2 miles away.
MacNeil's "Confederate Defenders" as photographed in his studio in 1931.
The South Carolina Secession Gala tickets are going quickly. We have less than one month left to attend an event that will surely be an “EVENT OF A LIFETIME”!!! You certainly won’t want to miss this wonderful event!We have a 45 minute theatrical play re-enacting the signing of the original Ordinance of Secession with Senators and famous individuals as actors in this performance. We even have President Pro-Tempore of the SC Senate, Glenn F. McConnell as Convention Chair, David F. Jamison of Barnwell.
The wonderful news is that the ORIGINAL Ordinance of Secession will be available for viewing by our guests. This is not a lithograph, but the ACTUAL document which has been protected for years in the vault and hasn’t been seen in years. Those sponsoring tables will be able to have a group photograph with all Sponsors made with the ORIGINAL ORDINANCE.
The cost includes the theatrical play, dinner and dancing. Do not wait until the last minute as tickets are going fast and there is limited seating.
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The event has stirred some debate in the news locally and nationally. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-10/civil-war-s-150th-anniversary-stirs-debate-on-race.html
“It’s almost like celebrating the Holocaust,” said Benard Simelton, president of the Alabama conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. “Our rights were taken away and we were treated as less than human beings. To relive that in a celebratory way I don’t think is right.”
For persons not wanting to pay $100, there are other alternatives. The state’s NAACP chapter plans a protest march and vigil outside the city-owned auditorium where the party will be held.
CLOSING COMMENT: The MacNeil Statue will not attend the Gala. It will remain in Battery Park, its home for the last 78 years. In addition, the sculpture’s attire is not proper for the dress code of the Ball. WEBMASTER
Related MacNeil Links:
https://hermonatkinsmacneil.com/2010/08/10/confederate-defenders-of-charleston/
https://hermonatkinsmacneil.com/2010/08/04/confederate-defenders-statue-battery-park/
