States Taking Different Approaches To Confederate Monuments

Monuments to confederate soldiers would be familiar to almost anyone in Alabama.

Many towns feature not only monuments, but schools named for confederate generals.

The Alabama Memorial Preservation Act that has passed the Alabama Senate would prevent communities from renaming or moving any monument or building over 20 years old.

Troy has a confederate monument in town square, and while many like the idea of keeping things the way they are, some don’t want the state stepping in.

“They don’t give us no kind of authority. We live in the town and they don’t ask us nothing. They just do what they want to do,” said Birdie Gosha.

“If they were destroyed or removed, not good. They’re history, their stories and it’s important to know where we come from,” said Brent Stein.

A U.S. Appeals court has recently given New Orleans permission to remove their monuments to confederates like president Jefferson Davis.

But Bob Wieland at the First White House of the Confederacy in Montgomery says there’s another way.

“I would really reach out to our sister cities of Memphis and New Orleans, if they could somehow incorporate their historic trail the way our great city has done I really think there could be a lot of progress made,” said Wieland.

He says Montgomery has done a great job incorporating the civil rights and civil war histories together throughout the downtown area.

“Jefferson Davis’ order from there going for the firing of Sumter just steps from where Rosa Parks bravely wouldn’t give up her seat, you can’t make this up. I think there’s a way, there’s a symbiotic relationship that can really make Alabamians proud of the progress.”