Nicole Raz
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Residents of the City of Rockville will weigh in tonight during a public meeting about a bronze life-size Confederate statue stationed in the Courthouse Square.
Montgomery County is considering removing or relocating the 102-year-old statue of a young cavalry private, which commemorates those who served the confederacy during the Civil War.
The nearest corner just a few yards away has a modest plaque with text of the statue’s history.
“As long as it tells the history, then it should stay,” says an African-American woman. “I’m not for the whole confederate thing, clearly, but as long it’s a historical thing and it has something like this where it tells you the history, I don’t mind it.”
Another man agrees that the statue should stay put, saying, “I don’t think we should hide our nation’s history.”
Others say, “Anything that has to do with issues like this should be in a museum, not in a public place.” Especially not on government property, another man added.
The statue is nestled between trees beside an old courthouse building, and many don’t notice or care about the statue.
“I’ve never even seen the statue,” one man said as he walked right past it. Likewise, one woman told WMAL, “I didn’t even pay it any attention until you just brought it to my attention.”
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