Restricted Confederate Monument Greenwood, Mississippi

Norman Dasinger Jr

First Sergeant
Joined
Jan 28, 2021
Confederate Monument

Greenwood, Mississippi

By Norman Dasinger, Jr and Laura Elliott



The Commonwealth (Greenwood, Mississippi) on August 9, 1912, reported, "The Board of Supervisors last Tuesday increased the donation to the Confederate Monument to be erected on the courthouse yard, from $3,500 to $5,000. "

Talk of erecting such a monument began in 1905. The Commonwealth, on April 29th of that year wrote, "Now that we have the finest court house in the country . . .why not have a Confederate monument located on the northeast corner . . . overlooking the mighty Yazoo, " was the quote from Mr. Rowan Thayer, a local banker. The paper continued, "The Commonwealth thinks the suggestion a splendid one."

Soon thereafter, the Columbus Marble Works, Columbus, Mississippi was selected to design and build the monument.

As fundraising and support for the memorial grew, the September 26, 1913 edition of The Commonwealth reported, "We earnestly request all patriotic citizens of Leflore County to give us some financial assistance in the grand work of art, as well as of history, which will be a credit to the town of Greenwood and the great county of Leflore. "

The December, 1913 issue of the Confederate Veteran magazine reported on the dedication of the new monument, "In presenting the monument to the veterans of Leflore County, Mrs. T.N. Whetstone, President of the Varina Davis Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) said: 'It was ours to carry out the commission of Leflore in erecting her memorial to those of her children who in the home or on the battlefield had faithfully done their part in that tremendous conflict, who in their day not only sustained their own high standard of right, loyalty, and honor but shed on the path yet untrodden of their people the long rays of light. . . Surely if under the sod where others lay, could they know, they too would tremble with an answering thrill as they heard and remembered songs and felt that their comrades were gathered together as in old times and that the women, their children, and their grandchildren were all gathered in token of love and pride,"

On September 29, 2021, it was reported, "The stone monument with multiple Confederate soldiers has stood since 1913 . . . the majority Black Leflore County supervisors voted in June 2020 to move it to a less prominent spot . . . Supervisors voted Monday to move the monument to Fort Pemberton Memorial Park." Deirdre Sugiuchi wrote, "We should all celebrate this rejection of ****, and view the removal as a new beginning, an investment in an equitable, antiracist future, not just in our community but in America."

Magnolia State Live reported on August 9, 2021, "The county initially came up with an idea to leave the Confederate statue and build a civil rights monument – one that one include Emmett Till - on the courthouse lawn to 'create balance'. But community members continued to push for the removal." State Senator David Jordan was quoted as saying, "There are so many heroes that need to be recognized . . . for the cities to make plans for new monuments when the Confederate ones are gone."


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