BY MILES LAYTON

EDENTON — The Chowan County Board of Commissioners voted Monday night to authorize spending up to $7,500 for landscaping and aesthetic improvements associated with the reinstallation of the county’s Confederate Memorial, a move that brought scorn from one of the monument’s critics.

The board voted 6–1 in favor of the motion, with Commissioner Ellis Lawrence casting the lone “no” vote against the appropriation.

Local resident Debra Miller spoke in opposition to restoring the monument.

The action followed many months of discussion about the statue’s future and placement — a location of equal prominence as determined by North Carolina state law.

It’s late on a school night, so other commission news from Monday’s meeting will appear in a future article.

County Manager Kevin Howard explained that the Town of Edenton is paying for the reinstallation of the Confederate statue itself, while the county’s contribution—up to $7,500—will be used if needed to make the monument’s new site visually consistent with its surroundings once the structure is back in place.

“This is not an overage,” Howard said. “The town is paying for the monument’s reinstallation. The county’s funding is only for any aesthetic improvements that might be needed—like additional shrubbery, sidewalk work, or landscaping—to make the site look as it did before, or to ensure it’s cohesive with what’s around it.”

Howard said the $7,500 is a contingency allowance, to be used only if the site requires further work after the monument is erected.

“Any of the improvements the county will pay for,” he said, “are purely to enhance or restore the look of the area—not for the monument itself.”

The Confederate statue, which previously stood at the base of South Broad Street near the courthouse and Veterans Memorial, has been in storage since it was removed in Labor Day weekend. 

Questions about legal requirements

In some quarters of our community, folks have had questions about whether the monument could be altered or redesigned to reduce its height or change its appearance.

Howard clarified that state law mandates Confederate memorials be returned to their original form and prominence.

“There were discussions about lowering it or changing the pedestal,” he said, “but under the current statute, it must be re-erected in essentially the same configuration.”

Commissioner Tony Shaffer reiterated that the county must comply with state law and that the vote was not about whether the statue should return, but how the county would help ensure its proper placement.

“White supremacy on display”

During the meeting’s public comment period, Debra Miller addressed the board to express her opposition to re-erecting the Confederate statue on public property.

“I’m against resurrecting the Confederate statue on public property, especially near the courthouse and Veterans Memorial,” Miller said. “It represents White supremacy, and that’s the reason some are so anxious to have it rise again.”

Miller referenced comments Shaffer made during a September 15 meeting, in which he discussed adding context or clarification to the monument’s meaning. 

“That statue has stood for many years,” Miller said. “I’m not sure what kind of clarity it needs. If any clarity is needed, it’s for the names and suffering of the enslaved people—actual human beings who died in bondage for nearly a century.”

Miller also expressed frustration at being interrupted during prior comments before the board. 

“I’ve spoken here three times now,” she said. “Two of those times I was interrupted disrespectfully. Does this board always allow interruptions to the speakers?”

When Miller’s time period to speak had expired, Chairman Bob Kirby called time on her remarks.

“Your time is up,” he said, prompting her to respond, “I guess I’ll just say—White supremacy on display.”

Her incendiary remarks appear to be blind not only to the racial makeup of commission that approved the Memorandum of Understanding to move the monument, but the time clock on a huge television screen in full view of the podium where she was speaking. During public comment, speakers are allowed three minutes for remarks. Miller surpassed the three minutes allowed – she got an additional 10 seconds or so more time to conclude her speech but she kept talking, so Kirby banged the gavel thereby ending the latest round of her virtue signaling.  

Also worth noting, Miller is listed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the county and town regarding the Confederate Memorial’s future.     

Shaffer responds: “I hope that clarifies my position”

Later in the meeting when the matter of the $7,500 was being discussed, Commissioner Shaffer spoke to clarify his position regarding the Confederate Memorial’s placement, which he said has been misrepresented by members of the public.

“In 1854, the Republican Party was created on the premise of freeing slaves. I find it quite repugnant that I’m constantly being called a White supremacist simply because I believe we should honor the fact that there were soldiers who died.”

He said some folks always talk about reparations, but they never talk about the hundreds of thousands of Union soldiers who died to free the South. 

Rather than sterilize history, Shaffer continued, “My position on this to support the idea of working within the law to move the statue to a place of equal prominence reflects my position that the South needs to be reminded that they lost the war.”   

Shaffer said supporting the reinstallation of the monument, as required by law, is not an endorsement of White supremacy—it’s an acknowledgment of history. 

“The war was fought, the war was lost. People died. To erase that because of modern sensibilities is insane.”

Shaffer said he supported “working within the law” to return the statue to a place of equal prominence.

Moreover, “If people want to add another monument regarding slaves, I think that’s perfectly acceptable,” Shaffer said. “But right now, the only thing in question is how and why we are moving this monument to the place we are — I hope that clarifies my position.” 

Chairman Kirby: “We’re about the law here”

Chairman Bob Kirby also addressed the controversy directly, responding to Miller’s assertion that the board had a choice in the matter.

“On the comment period, she made a statement about not re-erecting the monument,” Kirby said. “And I need to make sure she, and anyone else listening, understands that it’s not really an option. It’s mandated by state law, and we are obligated to adhere to that.”

Kirby said he had heard residents point to other counties or towns that chose not to return their Confederate monuments to public land.

“I’ve had people say, ‘Well, they didn’t do that over here, or over there,’” Kirby said. “My response is what my mama used to say—’if they stuck their hand in the fire, would you stick your hand in the fire?’ Those jurisdictions broke the law. We’re not going to break the law. We’re about the law here.”