Monday, the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to not move a Confederate monument that stands in the middle of Oxford Square.
The vote came after the Board heard comments from residents in June who either advocated for or opposed its removal.
Three of the five members of the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors are Democrats. All are white men. The president of the Board is Mike Roberts, a Democrat, and the vice president of the Board is Chad McLarty, also a Democrat.
According to a report from the Daily Journal, McLarty said he had conversations with African American friends of his and constituents in his district, but he did not have a conversation with any of them where they stated that “the monument was an issue to them.”
“I myself have been a victim of racism due to the color of my skin,” McLarty said, as reported by the Daily Journal. “I’ve also been a victim of police brutality. What I do know is there are a lot of bad people in this world, and no matter how many statues, flags or pancake boxes you take down, they will still exist.”
Thursday, the Lafayette County Democratic Party said it “strongly disagrees with and condemns the vote, which runs counter to the principles of our party. In 2020, it is shocking that anyone would vote to keep an ugly reminder of the systemic racism in our county in a place, our Courthouse square, that is supposed to represent equal protection of the law for all our citizens.”
In 2020, it is shocking that anyone would vote to keep an ugly reminder of the systemic racism in our county in a place, our Courthouse square, that is supposed to represent equal protection of the law for all our citizens. 3/9 #takeitdownoxford
— Lafayette Co. Dems (@LafayetteCoDems) July 9, 2020
But the Lafayette County Democrats didn’t stop there. They retweeted a post by Help Expose Racism Oxford attacking McLarty’s statement that he, too, had experienced racism. The tweet asked, “How can a white man in America experience racism?”
https://twitter.com/HERO_38655/status/1280937498353565696?s=20
The other Democrat supervisor on the Lafayette County Board is Brent Larson. He is also now the target of the local Democrat party’s vitriol.
Larson owns Cash Saver, an Oxford grocery store. Lafayette County Democrats are promoting a protest in front of his store today, urging their followers to carry signs that say, “Boycott Larsons. Shop at Chicory or Kroger,” and “Represent your employees Brent Larson.”
Protest tomorrrow @ Larson’s 4-6pm
Sign recs: “Boycott Cashsaver”
“Represent your EMPLOYEES Brent Larson”
“BOYCOTT LARSONS SHOP AT CHICORY or KROGER”
“MAKE A STATEMENT” “CALL FOR ANOTHER VOTE”
“BE THE CHANGE”
“We want to hear from you!” #takeitdownoxford pic.twitter.com/TU17Mt9Vkq— Lafayette Co. Dems (@LafayetteCoDems) July 9, 2020
There is even a GoFundMe campaign set up to take the Supervisors “on an educational field trip” to the National Civil Rights Museum or the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. As of the time of this article, it has raised $441.
https://twitter.com/HERO_38655/status/1280705431430672387?s=20
Frank Corder
