Confederate Soldier monument defaced again
July 7. UPDATED 11 am. The Confederate Soldier monument near Mt. Zion United Methodist Church was defaced overnight. Three suspects have been apprehended.
NEW: Two of the suspects involved are Treyvon Ciccio, and Gabriel Huezo, while the third has not been identified because he is a juvenile, Cornelius Police said. Mecklenburg County arrest records indicate they have been charged with first degree tresspassing and injury to personal property.
Ciccio turns 19 July 31; Huezo is 21. Damage is estimated at $200.
The statue base was spray-painted with the word racist and BLM.
CICCIO
The monument is one of the last Confederate monuments left standing in Mecklenburg County. It has been vandalized twice before since 2015, prompting the Mt. Zion Monument Association to erect a fence around it and install a camera.
Town officials and the Cornelius Police Dept. “maintain a growing concern for the public safety regarding the Confederate monument in our town,” Mayor Woody Washam said.
HUEZO
It has stood facing south Main Street (Hwy. 115) for 110 years. This year, the senior co-pastors of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church publicly called for the owners of the monument to move the granite column and statue.
Western NC Conference Methodists join call
Their call for immediate removal was joined by the governing body of the church, the Extended Cabinet of the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, and the Unity in Community organization.
In June, the Rev. Dr. Angela Marlowe and the Rev. Jonathan Marlowe asked the Mt. Zion Monument Association “to consider the harm their monument causes to our Black brothers and sisters.”
Donald Archer
Their formal letter said they stand ready to assist them “as they go about the hard process of listening to their neighbors.”
The monument association, led by Statesville resident Donald Archer, responded two days later: “In today’s politically charged climate, many people do not view this memorial as a significant and valuable piece of history. Due to this climate, the association is exploring all options available to protect and save this significant part of the history of Mecklenburg County and the state of North Carolina.”
That appears to be the sum total of the association’s response as of yesterday.
Unity in Community, which received the LKN Chamber Diversity Champion award in 2018, urged the Monument Association “to proceed in due haste to do the right thing and take down the monument, freeing the community once and for all from this oppressive symbol of White Supremacy over our black brothers and sisters.”
Archer and the monument association did not respond.
Then, last week, the Administrative Board of Mt. Zion, the overall governing body of the historic church, also called for the immediate removal of the statue.
Rally July 14
Leaders of Unity in Community have organized a Take Down the Statue rally for Tuesday, July 14.
This statue does no harm to “our black brothers and sisters”, or anyone else. This is a leftist attempt of revision of history, which will, unfortunately continue to succeed until people wake up and call what’s going on what it is.
Fran, how do your black congregates feel about this statue that ‘does no harm to out black brothers and sisters’? Do you all have black members in your church?
Well Said Fran Park. Hope you are doing well.
So if this were on public property there would be no debate over the issue. However, since it is on private property it is a matter of free speech. Albeit a symbol of racial injustice and oppression, it’s a matter of constitutional rights.
Take it down and replace it with a Union soldier!
This statue is my history and cannot see why all of this mess is going on. It has never offended anyone before. There was a war. That’s our history, why would anyone be so upset. All I can think is people have nothing to do. The old grave yard is full of old veterans and ALOT of my family is buried there plus I have three lots myself. Why can’t it be moved to the middle of the cemetery on the old side. People need to stand up for what is right . The poor younger children coming up in this generation are never going to learn the history from where they came. Sad. Sad. Sad. I have been in Cornelius for forty years and totally sick over this mess. Where are my rights and my feeling. I can ride through town and tell you many things I don’t like. But I guess my one little statement means nothing to anyone but me !!!!
Yes, the history of being losers in the war of having human beings as property, of rape to slave by their “owners” yes, we do need to tell our true and yes SAD Southern history and admit it was not good.
Please take that shameful god-awful statue away! I’m not black, but I can’t comprehend why this town should suffer the embarrassment of having a relic from Jim Crow days, a dreadful past I would love to see our community progress away from.
In you confused mind, you think that it was fine for all of the slave transport companies (all in the north) to transport Africans to the Caribbean and to American colonies? Yankees thought it was fine until the demand for cotton diminished. What a bunch if ignorant hypocrites Notice how the slave descendants appreciate your ignorant concern. Looks like the north lost the war after all. Actually, you are black.
They need to be given a community serve
Sentence …let them learn to do good the right way
What a GREAT IDEA!!! They could start by cleaning their mess up. Then afterwards perhaps some of the streets or around Habitat ReStore.
The monument is for all the men and women who died in a war! Not racism, not slavery, not hatred, Just a memorial to those who died in a war! I am ashamed our church gave in to rioters and looters! Sad day in Mount Zion History!
How do your church’s black members feel about the statue?
The very same way your White true Southern members do.
As Judge Judy would say, “Stop!, you can’t tell me what is in the head of another person! That is hear say!” The statue will be moved. Sit back and watch. Times are moving forward. Sit where you are in your mindset and miss out on the future. Time marches on!
Love that Randy…
I would be interested in how the black members of Mount Zion feel about the statue.
It’s not surprising that some people (not all!) feel attached to this statue and what it seems to represent We all tend to rally around the home team. And yet, the comment above, about “the poor younger children” who are “never going to learn history” makes it quite clear why the statue should in fact be removed. Erected in 1910, it is a projection of Jim Crow history and ideology, and this is simply BAD history, a history deeply refracted by white supremacy. This concluding remark from Armistead Burwell’s dedicatory speech, given when the statue was unveiled, gives some indication of what it truly represents: “to love home and its purity–to protect from taint the Anglo-Saxon blood that courses in your veins.” The statue celebrates and means to preserve racial purity; it’s a version, carved in stone, of Jim Crow thinking and now, in the 21st century, we can and should let it go. This is not what children need to be learning.
Well said Greg! Thanks for sharing a such a thoughtful reply.
Greg, you are exactly right. Back in the time of most of these statutes erections throughout both the South and North, a town could literally order from a catalog, a statue that met their desire. Matter of fact, most of the South and North monuments have identical faces. The only difference would be the hat type worn by the Confederate and Union soldiers and the belt buckle. These monuments now should be placed in an appropriate place on (Confederate soldiers burial grounds) and not stand in areas that almost boast racist and oppressive pride.
Well said, Greg.
All you people who post without giving your full name hide behind that. State your full name as some of us did and state where you moved here from! That will probably tell us a lot!
Phyllis Deaton- I was born in South Carolina, educated in New England. By the way, there are many monuments to the Union Soldiers in the North. They are not being damaged and argued over currently. I say move the Confederate Solider Statue to an appropriate setting (Confederate Cemetery) or an area that does not make Mt Zion look like a Confederate Religious meeting venue.
No one’s life will be made better in any way if these statues are removed. It’s just a trendy thing to do because someone said they were “offended”. Well, I’m offended by some of the music filled with lyrics about killing police, raping women, the “N” word and much more. Let’s get rid of all of that stuff. That actually COULD have a positive affect on society and our kids. I’m offended that there are unsafe areas in our county and out state where people are killed randomly. Who is taking care of that? I’m offended when I see businesses looted and burned. Who is making that situation better? I’m betting these things offend a LOT more people than the statues do. Let’s devote our efforts to something that helps EVERYONE, not just a few people who are just looking for another “villain” to blame for their unhappiness.
Take it down or add context so that it can be an educational tool about the evil of slavery and the shameful history of the Confederacy.
Thanks to the Cornelius Police Department for apprehending…It’s nice to live in a community where the police are allowed to do their job.
Is there a fund to donate to the court fees for Treyvon Ciccio, Gabriel Huezo and the unidentified third young man?
Are you serious? You want to help criminals that trespassed and vandalized property that doesn’t belong to them? I think I see the problem. So if there’s something I see I don’t like, it’s ok for me to destroy it. That’s not teaching youth to be responsible for their actions.
We need to start teaching black history in our schools so children grow up knowing that our white heritage is not without dishonor. Only when children grow up learning of our aggression towards native Americans and black people will they have an understanding of why these failed symbols to the past dishonor our present and future. I don’t think Germany honors those who aligned with Hitler. Also, I’m Southern and have many Confederate ancestors who fought. I’m proudest of the one who defected and fought for the Union.
I am personally opposed to removing statutes of historic figures or events, or changing the names of universities, military bases, etc. But given the diverse points of view, why not let each community decide what to do with statues sited on its public property by popular vote? That way is consistent with the Rule of Law upon which this nation was founded. Privately owned statues on private property are an expression of free speech, protected by the First Amendment, and are not subject to removal regardless of what others in the community may think.
I agree. Too many local governments make decisions based on a few and don’t consider the majority. Keep it up if that’s what the town wants!
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