Noxubee County Supervisors vote to relocate Confederate monument

NOXUBEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The Washington Post reports more than 80 Confederate monuments have come down over the last five years.

A third of those have been removed since George Floyd was killed in police custody on May 25th.

Just this week, the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors approved moving the county’s monument from the courthouse lawn.

Now, Noxubee County will soon do the same.

“We discussed the monument last month. We had our attorney to check out the legalities of it. So, we found out everything we legal for us to go ahead and vote to relocate it,” said District 5 Supervisor Bruce Books.

Brooks said board members voted unanimously to relocate the Confederate monument that currently sits outside the Noxubee County Courthouse.

The statue was erected in 1901 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

“I believe this is going to help us unite our community and definitely unite Noxubee County,” said Democratic Party Chair L. J. Brooks.

The monument will be moved to Odd Fellows Cemetery where both Confederate and Union soldiers are buried.

“We feel like it will be better represented where the soldiers are actually buried,” said Bruce Brooks.

County leaders said the move could cost around $10,000, but they don’t plan to use any public money.

“We’re going to definitely work with the historical society, also some local individuals who are flexible to actually encourage and help raise the money to move… We’re going to do all of this without using any public funds,” said L. J. Brooks.

Those we spoke with said this is a step in the right direction.

“I don’t think anyone should be able to, or should have to, look to their left or their right to see some type of segregation, some type of oppression… Everybody should be welcome to their county courthouse to handle their business since they are tax payers of this county,” said L. J. Brooks.

“Changing the flag and moving these monuments, I think, is really going to help the economic growth in Mississippi,” said Bruce Brooks.

Supervisors said the statue will be moved sometime in the next three to six months.