Editor, Gazette-Journal:

The removal of Confederate monuments and memorials has been an ongoing process for many years in many localities. This movement is being accelerated because of the decline in race relations. Back in 1880s when many of the Confederate monument/memorials were erected, it was done so to glorify white supremacy and to intimidate Black Americans.

These statues were strategically placed near courthouses and near the site of slave auctions. They represent a constant reminder of the brutality of slavery, the kidnapping, the beatings, the raping, the selling of men, women, children and babies, the Jim Crow era. The statues are dehumanizing and divisive. During that time, we did not know any better. Now in 2020 we know better. When you know better, you do better.

We need to embrace each other and erect public statues in public places that unite us in peace, love and harmony.We need to confront racism whether it is intentional or unintentional. As Martin Luther ...