The appalling murder of unarmed Black people has placed yet another spotlight on the racial inequality that plagues our nation. We are deeply saddened by this and numerous other events predicated on racial violence. We also remain committed to creating a more equitable and racially just culture here in the Shoals.

One step towards dismantling racial inequality and white supremacy is to remove the Confederate Monument from the Lauderdale County Courthouse Square. The monument stands as a shrine to an unjust society—one that fought for slavery—and has no place in the landscape of a racially just community. Now is the time to relocate and start the process of healing.

We stand in solidarity with the city of Birmingham and Downtown Huntsville, Inc. in advocating for the removal of the Confederate monument in the heart of our downtown. We challenge our Lauderdale County Commission, which owns the land on which the monument stands, to relocate the monumentto the Soldiers Rest section of the Florence City Cemetery. While removing a monument cannot erase trauma or undo the structural racism that is strongly embedded in our society, it will be an important acknowledgement that our county is willing to listen to the pain of its community members and take a step to remove its most visible symbol of violent intolerance