Local groups organize protest, call for removal of Bradenton’s Confederate monument

Just days after a violent weekend in Virginia, local activists have banded together to call for the removal of a Confederate monument in downtown Bradenton.

The 93-year-old Confederate monument, with the Confederate flag on one side, sits outside the Manatee County Historic Courthouse. The Manatee County Commission would have to make the decision on whether to remove or relocate the monument.

The commission first voted to allow the monument on March 3, 1924, and it was unveiled about two months later, erected by the Judah P. Benjamin Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

A Facebook listing for the protest shows organizers will meet at the Manatee County Courthouse at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

“It’s baffling they decided to put it in front of the courthouse — the courthouse is supposed to be a symbol of equality and justice,” said Greg Cruz, an event organizer with Answer Suncoast and Black Lives Matter Tampa. “It’s time for it to go.

“I could think of a thousand people better to honor than the Confederate generals that fought to keep slavery alive in the south,” Cruz said.

The event will be held in coordination with several organizations, including Black Lives Matter Alliance Sarasota Manatee Chapter, Indivisible Bradenton Pro-gressive and Answer Suncoast, according to the Facebook event posting.

“What does it mean for a young black person who has been told they are created equal to see a statue in front of their courthouse which celebrates and symbolizes a part of society that did not want them to exist as free and equals humans?” said Shakira Softer, another event organizer. “This is not political. This is just a fight between right and wrong.”

Some cities in the South have already removed their Confederate memorials in recent months or are discussing the possibility.

Hillsborough County commissioners are scheduled to discuss relocating a Confederate monument on Wednesday, according to Bay News 9. Another monument in Hillsborough, erected by a private group, was vandalized.

Others argue that the Confederate monuments represent Florida’s history.

Lunelle Mizell is among those who are against removing the Bradenton monument.

She said her great-great-grandfather Francis Burdette Hagan served Manatee County and the state of Florida honorably in the Confederate militia starting at age 12, and that he went on to be a county official and elected representative in the Florida Legislature. Other ancestors, she said, died serving their country, including one who perished in a prisoner of war camp.

“I’m offended, it’s disgusting. It’s hateful, it’s hateful,” Mizell said.“These memorials are just that, they’re veterans memorials.”

Mizell is proud of her family’s service and her heritage as a fifth-generation Floridian now living in Tampa.

“Taking them down doesn’t solve anything. It’s just hate,” Mizell said. “This is our history, none of it’s perfect, no one is perfect, we just have to learn from our mistakes. Honor what’s good, and learn from the bad.”

Manatee County Commissioner Charles Smith said he would like to bring the statue’s removal before the board of commissioners as an agenda item, but replacing it would be another issue. It all depends on how much either action would cost, he said.

“I still support the absolute removal,” he said.

Over the weekend, hundreds of white nationalists clashed with counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Va., after a protest of that city’s decision to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a park.

A vehicle plowed into a group of people marching peacefully through downtown Charlottesville, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 19 people. James Alex Fields Jr., 20, of Ohio has been charged with second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding, and one count related to leaving the scene.

A helicopter crash linked to the rally killed the pilot and the passenger, both Virginia State Police troopers.

Herald staff writer Hannah Morse contributed to this report.

This story was originally published August 15, 2017 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Local groups organize protest, call for removal of Bradenton’s Confederate monument."