Parker County’s decision to keep Confederate statue sparks protest Sunday morning
Three days after Parker County Commissioners voted unanimously to keep the Confederate statue on the Parker County Courthouse lawn, about 50 people gathered at the county courthouse Sunday morning to protest the decision.
Protesters met and voiced their disapproval of the statue that has sparked controversy in the county for over a month. On Thursday, most commissioners said the statue represents history and that they’ve spoken with several constituents who wanted to keep it in place.
The vote differed from County Judge Pat Deen’s announcement July 27 that the monument would be relocated after protesters clashed at a July 25 demonstration that turned violent. Deen, who voted for the statue to stay, said on Thursday that the court had the final say.
Protest organizer Tony Crawford said he was talking with Deen until Wednesday night and his understanding was the statue was going to be removed.
“He [figuratively] looked us in the eye and said, ‘You don’t matter,’” Crawford said.
Deen told the Star-Telegram on Monday that he told protest organizers only what the United Daughters of the Confederacy — which owns the statue — had said it wanted to do. The organization had found a private location where it could relocate the statue but wanted the commissioners court to vote first.
Now that the court voted, the county will move on from the statue and onto other business, Deen said.
Even though Crawford and others were in talks with Deen, he wasn’t surprised the vote went the way it did.
“They are proud of this Confederate heritage,” Crawford said. “And this Confederate heritage is white supremacy — it’s the oppression of people.”
Fellow organizer James Gray said protesters want to keep pressuring the county and let elected officials know that they aren’t going away. This time around, they changed their tactics. They didn’t chant or yell at anyone because that seemed to trigger the counter-protesters on July 25, Gray said.
For Crawford and Gray, the statue represents the worst of the Confederacy as well as the enslavement and oppression that their people suffered for hundreds of years.
“We’re not trying to divide the community,” Gray said. “We’re trying to open eyes and let people realize what this [statue] really means.”
About 10 counter-protesters with Confederate and Blue Lives Matters flags stood across from the protesters Sunday.
One counter-protester, who goes by Piper, came out to make sure the statue wasn’t vandalized. She was happy the county voted for it to stay on the lawn.
“It’s my heritage, it’s my history,” she said while holding a Confederate flag.
Piper said she understands the history behind the statue and how it affects the protesters, but she said the statue isn’t oppressing anyone. She added that there’s a misconception that the people who are counter-protesting are racist; rather, they just care about their community, she said.
Another counter-protester, Denice, said she doesn’t understand why everyone just can’t have their own opinion and still get along.
She added that it’s wrong that the people of Weatherford are made to feel bad for wanting the statue to be kept on the lawn.
“It’s our town,” she said. “We’re a community that stands together.”
Going forward, Gray said he wants to educate people on the ideology of the Confederate statue because that’s what creates change.
“If you can educate people, you can change hearts,” he said.
This story was originally published August 2, 2020 at 3:39 PM.
