NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) – Should it stay or go?
A civil rights group, known as the United Front for Justice, has called for the removal of the Confederate Monument downtown on Main Street in honor of the nine African American churchgoers gunned down in an alleged racially-charged shooting spree in Charleston, South Carolina.
"It saddens me for what it represents and I understand that it is a heritage for some, but for others such as myself being an African American woman it does represent a bad part of history for us," said Nina Wilson, who lives in Hampton Roads but is from Charleston.
But others walking past the monument said there is a difference between flying the Confederate Battle Flag and a monument honoring fallen soldiers.
"Taking down flags at a government building, a state building - fine. But not monuments. C'mon. That's kind of like defacing history," one woman said.
Along with the 15-foot monument, United Front for Justice is asking the city to take down "other symbols of the Confederacy from public places," according to a letter posted at the bottom of this story that the group sent to city leaders Thursday.
Confederate-era references can be seen throughout Norfolk from the names of schools to a monument in West Point Cemetery, which honors African American soldiers from the Civil War.
Earlier this week in Portsmouth, Mayor Kenny Wright backed Councilman Mark Whitaker's request to remove a confederate monument there.
"It needs to go. That monument is a symbol of hate, racism, inequality. It was the darkest four years in this country's history," said Portsmouth Mayor Kenny Wright.
But the Virginia Sons of Confederate Soldiers plans on fighting to keep what they claim as theirs.
"The city of Portsmouth doesn't own it. It's private property, it's owned by the Confederate Sons," said John Sharrett, III, who heads Portsmouth's chapter of the Confederate Sons.
The City of Norfolk owns its monument, and a city spokesperson said the City Attorney is working to determine where it could be moved, if its removal is approved.
Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim declined to comment Thursday.
