The monument to North Carolina Women of the Confederacy in downtown Raleigh was spray-painted with the words “Black Live Matter”.
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Surveillance video shows that sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning, two individuals used large stencils and red spray paint to write the words “This is racist” near the top of the arch of the embattled monument on the south side of the Square.
A vandal defaced the Confederate monument on the Denton County Courthouse Square, a few weeks after a similar monument was vandalized in Dallas.
The words “THIS IS RACIST” were scrawled in bright red paint atop the monument.
Regardless of its symbolism, the sheriff’s office says this was vandalism, and since it is a federally-protected monument, it is considered a felony crime.
The Denton memorial is the latest Texas Confederate icon to be vandalized.
While the memorial is now maintained by Denton County, the final say on whether the statute stays or goes comes from the Texas Historical Commission.
Groups such as Dentonites Against Racist Traditions is working to have it removed and replaced with something else on the Square, according to the Dallas Morning News. The shooting has set off a debate about Confederate symbols and memorials across Southern states.
“We have never wanted the monument to be defaced or destroyed in any way”, group organizer Jonathon Vann said in the post. The 101-year-old 7′ tall monument that faces Morgan Street honors North Carolina women during the Civil War.
‘I think the statue commemorates our ancestors, ‘ said Gary Claytor, who has been active in the online debate over the monument.
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Another Confederate monument in the Triangle was vandalized overnight Tuesday. In the wake of the lowering of the Confederate battle flag at the South Carolina state Capitol, Denton residents called for the removal of the monument.
