Predominantly Black Dallas Group Forms To Protect Monuments...
August 14, 2017 9:52 PM
By Jeff Paul

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – The debate about Confederate statues in Dallas intensified on Monday as a group made up of predominantly African Americans called for the monuments to remain standing.

Several cities across America have now begun to remove or talk about removing Confederate markers shortly after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville turned deadly.

Former city council member Sandra Crenshaw thinks removing the statues won’t help.

“I’m not intimidated by Robert E. Lee’s statue. I’m not intimidated by it. It doesn’t scare me,” said Crenshaw. “We don’t want America to think that all African Americans are supportive of this.”

Crenshaw, along with some Buffalo Solider historians and Sons of Confederate Veterans are coming together to help protect the Confederate markers from toppling over in Dallas.

They feel the monuments, like the Freedman’s Cemetery, tell an important story and help heal racial wounds.

“Some people think that by taking a statue down, that’s going to erase racism,” said Crenshaw. “Misguided.”

City council member Philip Kingston disagrees.

“What we don’t do is leave up a monument that celebrates the very idea that some of us are not equal to the others,” said Kingston.

He has now proposed a resolution that states the monuments should not be on public land and wants to create a task force to help decide the future of the statues.

“These monuments distort history, they don’t teach history,” said Kingtson.

Crenshaw said the protests and efforts to remove the monuments take away from real change and progression.

“I’m very, very saddened by those people, particularly the African Americans, who are leading this agenda. There is a democratic process,” said Crenshaw.

Mayor Mike Rawlings released a statement on Monday calling the events in Charlottesville horrifying and the white supremacists behind the events as “pure evil.”

He did not comment specifically on the monuments but has set a press conference for Tuesday at noon where he could further discuss the matter.

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2017/08/14/dalla...rate-monuments/