Dueling protests come to Alamance County over Confederate monument

On Thursday night, the issue was front and center as Confederate supporters gathered to celebrate the 160th anniversary of North Carolina seceding from the Union.

"I don't even call it a monument -- I call it a memorial," said event organizer Thomas May. "That's all it is to me. It's a memorial to the 1,100 citizens of Alamance County that lost their lives in war."

Across the street, counter-protesters said the monument outside the courthouse is a symbol of inequality.

“It has no place in front of the courthouse, where people walk in thinking this is a place where they are going to get justice. That statue is a message that justice is for some people and not for others," said Elon resident Pam Duffy.

Confederate statue in Alamance County guarded by law enforcement during protests

H.K. Edgerton, a prominent Confederate activist, led the conversation Thursday and dismissed claims that the Confederate battle flag or monument represented slavery. He said that there was a sense of family between enslaved people and landowners.

“I’ll tell you, this is the most important civil rights fight that I’ve ever been in – trying to get my people to understand that we are family in the southland of America," said Edgerton.

While some want to preserve history, others believe it gives the community a black eye.

Political, education, business leaders call on Alamance County to relocate Confederate monument from Graham courthouse

"To me, it's heritage and nothing about hate," said May.

"They don't see heritage," countered Cliff Carter. "They see suppression of that part of America, and there's no way you can change that."

Last month, the county reportedly spent $32,000 to install an 8-foot-tall iron fence to protect the monument from any damage.