Zebulon Baird Vance Monument

The Zebulon Baird Vance Monument is a monument in Asheville, North Carolina, United States honoring Zebulon Baird Vance. The memorial is slated for removal, as of June 2020.[1]

Zebulon Baird Vance Monument
The monument in 2011
Year1938
MediumStone
Dimensions2,000 cm (65 ft)
LocationAsheville, North Carolina, U.S.
Coordinates35°35′42″N 82°33′05″W

Description and history

Zebulon Baird Vance was Governor of North Carolina during the American Civil War and a United States Senator from 1880 until 1894, when he died. He also lived in Asheville. Construction of the 65-foot (20 m) obelisk began December 22, 1897, with a band playing "Dixie" as the cornerstone was laid.[2] The location is present-day Pack Square, on land owned by the city.[3] The inscription on the plaque reads:

ZEBULON BAIRD VANCE
CONFEDERATE SOLDIER, WAR GOVERNOR
U.S. SENATOR, ORATOR, STATESMAN
MAY 13, 1830 — APRIL 14, 1894
THIS TABLET IS PLACED BY ASHEVILLE CHAPTER U.D.C.
1938

Controversy

Vance owned slaves and during the Reconstruction era opposed allowing African Americans to have rights that others had. Historian Sasha Mitchell claims Vance was grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan.[4]

In January 2014, the African American Heritage Commission began, with the job of creating a monument for African Americans to provide balance for the Vance Monument. As of 2020, this has not been done. Mitchell, the commission's former chair, believed regulations and lack of staff support got in the way. After the city made plans in 2015 to restore the monument, a petition for a marker honoring black people in Buncombe County received 2000 signatures, but no action was taken. The Unite the Right rally in 2017 led to the city creating a subcommittee to study what to do with Confederate markers and monuments. Mitchell wanted a series of small markers to tell the story of African Americans, including the fact that slaves were sold in the area. Again, nothing has been done.[5]

During the 2020 George Floyd protests, the monument was tagged with spray paint. In June 2020, the Asheville City Council voted for a resolution that included having a task force determine if the monument should be removed or repurposed. A 2015 North Carolina law would not permit this action unless the monument is privately owned, and city attorney Brad Branham said it was not clear who owned the monument and additional research was needed. The United Daughters of the Confederacy paid for the monument but did not own the land. City Council member Keith Young, who is African-American, said he believed that those who erected the monument were saying to black people, "We still have power. We still have control. And this is your place in our society."[3] N.C. Senator Jim Davis, primary sponsor of the 2015 law, said he believed history needed to be preserved and trying to rewrite history and removing monuments would not "alleviate the fact that slavery was".[3]

Another option suggested was that the monument remain but Vance's name be removed.[2]

On July 8, workers began the process of covering the monument "in order to reduce its impact on the community and to reduce the risk of harm it presents in its current state."[6] This action resulted from a joint resolution passed by the city and county which calls for a task force to study alternatives.[6] The resolution also resulted in the removal of two other monuments, a Robert E. Lee monument in Pack Square and one honoring the 60th Regiment and the Battle of Chickamauga at the courthouse, in July.[7]

The city council appointed six members and two alternates to the task force on July 28.[4]

On July 29, the Vance Monument was one of the stops on a tour in which an image of Floyd appeared on a monument, "replacing" the monument temporarily.[4]

See also

References
  1. Hackett, Madeleine (2020-06-11). "City of Asheville passes resolution to remove Vance Monument, other Confederate monuments". WYFF. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  2. Wicker, Mackenzie (2020-06-09). "Confederate Vance Monument debate reignited amid George Floyd protests". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved 2020-06-11 – via MSN.
  3. Wicker, Mackenzie; Burgess, Joel (2020-06-11). "Asheville, Buncombe leaders support Confederate monument removal, but legal hurdles remain". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  4. Burgess, Joel (2020-07-29). "Asheville Confederate Vance Monument to be 'replaced' by George Floyd hologram; Task force appointed". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  5. Wicker, Mackenzie (2020-07-14). "Vance Monument group's mission failed in 2017. Why will this time be different?". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  6. Wicker, Mackenzie (2020-07-08). "Asheville begins shrouding Vance Monument ahead of its alteration or removal". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  7. Wicker, Mackenzie (2020-07-14). "Confederate monument removed from Buncombe Courthouse property". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
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