Clarity: PA NAACP Leader Condemns Tearing Down Confederate Statues

Pennsylvania NAACP Leader Speaks Out on Confederate Statues

There has recently been a lot of screaming and shouting surrounding US Confederate Monuments.

On one side we have people claiming the monuments represent slavery and racism and need to be unlawfully destroyed. And on the other side, people believe they are about remembering history and the heritage of the south, to ensure we don’t repeat the same mistakes of the past.

Things have continued to boil over the edge after the horrifying event that unfolded in Charlottesville, VA, and in Durham.

Confederate Statues

Reported by ijr:

A NAACP leader in Pennsylvania is speaking out against protesters tearing down Confederate monuments in the days following the violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The problem, according to Esther Lee — who helms the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania chapter of the organization — is the “senseless” unrest around the country, not the statues of Confederate leaders.

In fact, she said Tuesday that the Confederate memorials are a part of the country’s history and should stay in place, via WFMZ-TV:

You know, that’s history — that was in that point in time. You can’t eliminate what history is. So I disapprove with young people pulling down those statues.

A young woman died. Two officers were murdered in a plane crash. And all for what? Because somebody in their mind decided, ‘We don’t need to look at that anymore.’ It shouldn’t be.

Moving forward, Lee has two pieces of advice for protesters: Leave the monuments alone, and begin to pray for President Donald Trump, even — and maybe especially — if you disagree with him.

“I would pray that he would gain the strength to do what’s necessary for the job, at least for these four years,” the NAACP leader said, later encouraging Americans to “widen our circle of compassion.”

Confederate Statues

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Lee’s comments came after Trump wondered aloud during a rowdy press conference if protesters would begin demanding that statues of America’s founding president, George Washington, be torn down.

By Wednesday morning, the president had his answer. A Chicago pastor has called on Mayor Rahm Emanuel to remove a statue of Washington because the nation’s first commander in chief was a slave owner.

The city of Baltimore — under the cover of night — removed several famous Confederate monuments from public property on Tuesday. Mayor Catherine Pugh said the sculptures “needed to come down” for the “safety and security of our people.”