FLOYD, Va. – As pressure continues mounting to remove Confederate monuments across Virginia, some people in our area are taking a stand for what they say is local history.
Like we saw over the Confederate flag debate a few years ago, people are rallying to save the monuments.
Confederate flags flapped in the wind on Thursday night in front of the Floyd County Courthouse.
About two dozen people joined together for the protest, Randall Tucker and his wife organized it to show people what they had to say about the situation.
“It doesn’t matter what color, black, pink, purple, white, we’re all here for the same reason, we’re all the same people. We’re here to save our heritage, our history, trying to save it and put it down through generation after generation," Tucker said.
This comes after Gov. Ralph Northam announced the Robert E Lee statue in Richmond would come down, and protestors began toppling other monuments on their own. A woman sat in front of the courthouse earlier this week offering to break bread and discuss why the statue in Floyd should be replaced, but supporters like Renee Armstrong feel otherwise.
“If you don’t pay attention to history it repeats itself, so we need to learn from these monuments and learn from past mistakes," Armstrong said.
The local chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy erected the monument in Floyd in the early 1900s. It reads in memory of the fallen braves, the Confederate soldiers, which the group says is not offensive.
“I don’t think it’s a shrine, I think it’s just a sign of respect. It’s got all the battles on the bottom of the monument, both wins and losses, it’s an important part of history," Armstrong said.
A small handful of people opposed the group’s message, including one woman who came with a sign chanting black lives matter.
But Tucker and others in the group remain unswayed, saying they stand behind the monument.
“I want the monument to stay, I want to teach my children about it, I want to teach my grandchildren about it, and as far as I’m concerned that’s where it needs to stay forever," Tucker said.