In what is the first of a three-string vandalism aimed against Confederate-related monuments, a Confederate memorial was trashed with the words “Black Lives Matter” and “Tear It Down” in Maplewood Cemetery Durham, North Carolina Wednesday, July 1.
The monument was put up by the Sons of Confederate Veterans as the cemetery is the burial site of some 40 Confederate soldiers at the cost of about $3000.
Stewart Dunaway, a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, went to Maplewood Cemetery to clean up the monument.
“I think it’s a great concern that citizens need to talk about since the horrific event in South Carolina. And the issues that are going on down there with the flag and the state capitol should bring the discussion back to citizens and I would really call on everyone to understand all aspects of the Civil War,” he stated in an interview while doing the clean up.
He continued to say that while it is wrong to have a Confederate flag pertaining to that “weirdo in South Carolina that did that horrific event”, he also believes that to ignore the Confederate flag, associate it solely with slavery, have it burned down or taken away from everything is equally awry.
Meanwhile, Durham authorities are still investigating the said incident.
In connection with this, the “Silent Sam” statue at the Chapel Hills campus of the University of North Carolina was defaced last Sunday while Wednesday rolled in with the Confederate monument in the Triangle located just outside the former Durham County Courthouse trashed.
On the third incident, the same phrase “Black Lives Matter” was spray-painted on the memorial along with an expletive about the Durham Police Department.
Investigations are still ongoing with authorities making several security changes like installing more security cameras as the ones posted within the area were not working specifically in the case of the third vandalism incident.