I would like to publicly ask the Alamance County commissioners to hold a vote to relocate the Confederate statue. I understand that they have stated in the past that they feel like you cannot act on this issue due to the state law. I would urge them to reconsider. There is a provision in the law that states that an object can be moved if it “poses a threat to public safety”. That provision has allowed neighboring counties to move theirs.
In my opinion, the current climate surrounding the statue absolutely qualifies as an imminent threat to public safety. Members of the public are standing up to call for change in Alamance County. They are being met by often armed resistance from private citizens, or arrested by the sheriff's department. This is a recipe for violence, and it cannot be described as anything other than a threat to public safety.
It bothers me to no end that the Alamance County commissioners and Sheriff's Office are currently placing more value on an object than on the safety of their citizens. Regardless of your feelings about this divisive statue and all of its inherent symbolism, please acknowledge that the statue is merely an object. The commissioners start their meetings off with a Christian prayer each month. One of the tenants of Christianity is that we are all made in God’s image. I urge them to please look at the Alamance County citizens. We are human beings. We matter more than a hunk of granite. The commissioners need to value the sanctity of human life and relocate this dangerous lightning rod for violence before someone gets killed over it.
I would like to respectfully ask the Alamance County commissioners to hold a vote on this matter. As democratically elected officials, the Alamance County commissioners owe us a public vote on this matter before November. We the citizens deserve to know, on record, their individual stances on this issue so that we can make informed decisions regarding the future of Alamance County democracy.
Medora Burke-Scoll, Mebane
