Hate Or Heritage Case Study
Hate or Heritage
PORTSMOUTH – On a cold, wet, winter day people departed their warm downtown offices and businesses. They wasted no time getting to their cars, trying their best to beat rush-hour traffic.
On their way through the old Town Square, they pass a monument in honor of Confederate Soldiers.
It stands at the corner of High St. and Court Street, directly in front of the old Portsmouth Court house. It faces the Elizabeth River, which is the route the CSS Merrimack took to engage the USS Monitor in one of the most historic naval battles ever.
According the National Historical registration form, the monument is an obelisk of North Carolina granite ornamented at the cap, is 35 feet six inches high and 3 feet 9 inches wide.
A Confederate Soldier is on each side and the entire …show more content…
The $23,000 would come up well short of the initial bid of $105,000 the city has been told it would cost to remove.
Many in attendance muttered under their breath during Whitaker’s opening soliquie. However, when he mentioned putting his councilman salary to the removal, it became very audible.
Several members chastised Whitaker with, “Pay your taxes!”
Mayor Kenneth Wright sat stone faced and quiet, while the rest of the city council had objections to Whitaker’s request. The Vice-Mayor, Elizabeth M. Psimas along with Councilmen William Moody, Jr., Page Cherry, Dr. Curtis Edmonds and Danny Meeks all chimed in with their rejections.
The issue has become such a heated topic that Meeks, Moody and Psimas, who happen to be the three white members of the council rolled eyes, or muttered things under their breath while Whitaker spoke.
Cherry and Edmonds, do not like the idea of the monument, but they agree that now is not the time to make a decision on the issue. They want to wait for the courts to come back with a decision and feel that they are wasting time bringing this issue up on a regular
PORTSMOUTH – On a cold, wet, winter day people departed their warm downtown offices and businesses. They wasted no time getting to their cars, trying their best to beat rush-hour traffic.
On their way through the old Town Square, they pass a monument in honor of Confederate Soldiers.
It stands at the corner of High St. and Court Street, directly in front of the old Portsmouth Court house. It faces the Elizabeth River, which is the route the CSS Merrimack took to engage the USS Monitor in one of the most historic naval battles ever.
According the National Historical registration form, the monument is an obelisk of North Carolina granite ornamented at the cap, is 35 feet six inches high and 3 feet 9 inches wide.
A Confederate Soldier is on each side and the entire …show more content…
The $23,000 would come up well short of the initial bid of $105,000 the city has been told it would cost to remove.
Many in attendance muttered under their breath during Whitaker’s opening soliquie. However, when he mentioned putting his councilman salary to the removal, it became very audible.
Several members chastised Whitaker with, “Pay your taxes!”
Mayor Kenneth Wright sat stone faced and quiet, while the rest of the city council had objections to Whitaker’s request. The Vice-Mayor, Elizabeth M. Psimas along with Councilmen William Moody, Jr., Page Cherry, Dr. Curtis Edmonds and Danny Meeks all chimed in with their rejections.
The issue has become such a heated topic that Meeks, Moody and Psimas, who happen to be the three white members of the council rolled eyes, or muttered things under their breath while Whitaker spoke.
Cherry and Edmonds, do not like the idea of the monument, but they agree that now is not the time to make a decision on the issue. They want to wait for the courts to come back with a decision and feel that they are wasting time bringing this issue up on a regular