COMPROMISE REACHED at “The Confederate Defenders Monument”
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“Stand As One” members surround “The Confederate Defenders” grouping on their first Sunday rotation at the base of the allegorical grouping designed by Hermon A. MacNeil in 1931. SOURCE: WCIV – Charleston, SC
Two opposing Groups will rotate Weekend Vigils on Sundays at “The Confederate Defenders Monument”
“Black Lives Matter” marchers can now share Sunday Vigil time at the MacNeil statue erected 88 years ago at Battery Point, Charleston, SC.
In recent Months, the figures, sculpted by Hermon MacNeil and dedicated in 1932, have become a modern focal point of tensions in Charleston, SC.
Sinc
e 2015, members of “Flags Across the South” have flown the Confederate flag and stood guard there on Sundays. In recent weekends the opposing group “Stand As One” has asked and received
Now they will have to share rotating weekends with “Stand As One”
Fort Sumter – Start of the Civil War. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usflagsupply.com%2Fus-flag-supply-blog%2Ffort-sumter-the-start-of-the-american-civil-war.html&psig=AOvVaw3XRGNv1rn-7lPlHiIn3qbR&ust=1596163275424000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0QjhxqFwoTCNDN8dn58-oCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAi
“Black Lives Matter” marchers can now share Sunday Vigil time at the MacNeil statue erected 88 years ago at Battery Point, Charleston, SC.
The Monument at Battery Point overlooks the Charleston Harbor. Three and a half miles ESE lies Fort Sumter. The first shots the Civil War were fired there 159 years ago.
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https://abcnews4.com/news/loca
Justin Hunt said he and his organization, Stand As One, have also requested a permit to stand at the monument several times before.
“This is a public park, so just how they are able to speak and say how they feel, we are able to speak on the same monument and say how we feel,” said Hunt.
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Jack O’Toole, spokesperson for the Mayor’s office, explained that both groups had applied for the same permit, asking to protest one the same days at the same time for the “foreseeable future,” which the Charleston Police Department had never experienced before.
So CPD officials reached out to the legal department and found a compromise.
“What (the Legal Department) decided was that it made sense to protect everyone’s rights by having everyone trade back and forth one weekend and the next,” O’Toole said. “Last weekend, the flag supporters were at the monument and the counter-protesters were at high battery. This weekend, the counter-protester at monument, flag supporters at high battery.”
For Spivey and Flags Across the South, being at the high wall is nothing new to them.
“We used to stand up here on the high wall when we first started doing this,” said Spivey.
For Stand As One, they’ll continue to advocate for more.
“We call the City Mayor and Council to stop spending money in over policing and focus on ensuring the police and property policing. We do hope our presence here will not be needed long,” said Hunt.
