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PROTESTERS IN NORTH Carolina toppled a nearly century-old statue of a Confederate soldier overnight at a rally against racism.
Activists in Durham brought a ladder up to the statue and used a rope to pull down the Confederate Soldiers Monument that was dedicated in 1924. A diverse crowd of dozens cheered as the statue of a soldier holding a rifle fell to the ground in front of an old courthouse building that now houses local government offices.
Seconds after the monument fell, protesters began kicking the crumpled bronze monument.
“I was a little bit shocked people could come here and come together like that,” said Isaiah Wallace, who is black.
Wallace said he watched as others toppled the statue. He hopes other Confederate symbols elsewhere will follow.
“I feel like this is going to send shockwaves through the country and hopefully they can bring down other racist symbols,” he said.
The Durham protest was in response to a white nationalist rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend. Authorities say one woman was killed on Saturday after one of the white nationalists drove his car into a group of peaceful counter-protesters.
Although the violence in Virginia has prompted fresh talk by government officials about bringing down symbols of the Confederacy around the South, North Carolina has a law protecting them.
The 2015 law prevents removing such monuments on public property without permission from state officials.
In response to the statue in Durham being torn down, Democratic North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper tweeted: “The racism and deadly violence in Charlottesville is unacceptable but there is a better way to remove these monuments.”
After the statue fell, several dozen protesters congregated on the street in front of the old courthouse. Some took pictures standing or sitting on the toppled soldier, in front of a pedestal inscribed with the words “In Memory of the Boys Who Wore The Gray.”
Police cruisers blocked off the street, and officers looked on — some filming. As it got dark, rally participants began to peacefully disperse.
Robin Williamson, who works downtown, arrived in the area about an hour after the statue came down. Williamson, who is black, said he can sympathise with people who are upset with the state of racial discourse in the country.
“People feel that with Donald Trump as leader, racists can be vocal,” he said.
He said that while Confederate monuments have been defaced in other cities, it was surprising to see an entire statue brought down by protesters.
“This is a little bit more intense because they took the whole statue down,” he said.
So a no-deal Brexit would be bad for the economy but so would an orderly Brexit. And does anyone really believe that inflation is only 1 percent per annum in this country? I assume the Central Bank guy is not renting accommodation or paying crèche fees.
@Earth Traveller: yes…inflation is low. Are any of your day to day products in a basket of goods going up?
@Earth Traveller: yes…inflation is low. Are any of your day to day products in a basket of goods going up? Competition is driving retail prices down. The majority of people own their homes and interest rates are dropping…
@joe: yes they absolutely are
More tax from FFG …
Our central banks “expert” analysis seems to be to look at the current number and then add a little bit onto that!
And aren’t we all so lucky that FFG never brought us to the brink of recession!
Its always somebody else’s fault, brexit, or the financial crash, or the butterfly that flapped its wings the wrong way in brazil, its never the fault of the useless idiots in dail eireann.
We need to stand up stop thinking about how bad it will be without England financially and start thinking about Irish unity and how it will benefit us as a nation of course if won’t benefit us straight away but a few years down the line it will. Those figures the central bank send out I would take them with a grain of salt .Time to stop moaning and get on with it.
@Donal Carey: what if the vote goes the other way ,what then and it is likely to do that as the uncertainty that is around the corner
@Donal Carey: we really don’t want or need that money pit!
@FlopFlipU: Negative everything points to a United Ire and it’s about time
Once northern Ireland see how britain has betrayed them, it will a work itself out.
What will they use to scare us with when its all sorted.
Is this the same regulator that predicted a soft landing at the height of the Celtic tiger?
The banks will be a great help to struggling people. They give you an umbrella when the sun is out, then take it off you when it’s raining
Scare mungering again like 12 years ago
@Joseph Molloy:
You may have missed it, but 12 years ago the proverbial muck hit the fan in this country like never before and we’re still suffering the consequences. Where exactly do you see the scaremongering?
Brexit won’t happen. English are stupid alright but not economically suicidal. London is the powerhouse and voted remain. Money talks.
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