Confederate statue not on Board of Supervisors agenda, will still be addressed

Published 5:27 pm Thursday, July 2, 2020

The agenda for the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors meeting on July 6 was announced on Thursday, but it did not list the Confederate monument on the courthouse lawn as an official discussion topic.

However, members of the board told the EAGLE  the statue will be discussed, although no decision will be made next week.

“We are going to address it,” said District 2 Supervisor Larry Gillespie. “Some of our individual members have more questions for legal counsel. We just want to get as much input from people as we can.”

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Protesters have been on the Square almost daily, demanding action be taken to remove the statue. A community discussion forum was also held on June 22, for residents to speak in favor of, or against, moving the statue.

According to Gillespie, the board has spoken with individual people in the community about the statue. He said that, while discussion about the statue is not on the agenda, they do plan to address whether or not to move the statue.

District 4 Supervisor Chad McLarty seconded Gillespie’s comment, saying the Board needed more time.

“We are not prepared to discuss the monument on July 6,” McLarty said. “We will make a statement concerning it on that day.”