Lawsuits May Follow Statue Removal

When police stood down, protesters took advantage, ripping down two Confederate monuments over the weekend. Then, citing public safety concerns, Governor Roy Cooper ordered more statues removed.

"We’re just outraged and angry, especially at the blatant disregard for the law," says Frank Powell, spokesperson for the Sons of Confederate Veterans. His group, along with United Daughters of the Confederacy, have sponsored monuments all across the state. Only of the monuments just removed from the state capitol grounds belonged to one of the groups.

While Powell is angry, others see justice, "What we’ve learned, especially during our civil rights movement is that you have to participate in civil disobedience to sometimes correct those wrongs," says Gerald Givens, the president of the Apex-Raleigh NAACP.

An informal legal opinion from the Attorney General’s Office sides with the governor’s decision for removal, citing a provision in the state law passed to protect such monuments. That opinion says in part, “The statute does not… limit what conditions may be considered “unsafe or dangerous.”

"The governor clearly has the inherent authority to remove these monuments," says Hampton Dellinger. He’s part of a group of attorneys who argue the monuments violate equal protection under the Constitution. Still, in 2018 the State Historical Commission, including Cooper appointees, voted state law protected the statues. However, Dellinger says this is different, "One, there’s clearly a public safety component at this point. Second, I think there’s a further understanding of how painful these monuments are."

Powell disagrees and says the Sons of Confederate Veterans may take legal action, "He’d already tried to do it legally and failed. So I guess he figured he would do it illegally this time." For Powell, the removal of the monuments isn’t about procedure, it’s personal, "We feel we have standing because those memorials represented my ancestors."

Apex/Raleigh NAACP President Gerald Givens sees it differently from his ancestors’ perspective, "The statues may be gone, but racism is still here."