“If it’s ‘heritage, not hate’, then we should have a ‘Bury Confederates in Trenches Day’ in Knoxville because our heritage is killing Confederates and burying them in trenches outside of Knoxville. That’s historical reality.”
People rally near the 17th Street Fort Sanders monument to protest its removal. Corey Markus • The Daily Beacon
Confederate monument rally draws thousands Alex Holcomb
Editor-In-Chief
Annie Tieu News Editor
Chris Salvemini Contributor Thousands rallied over the fate of the Fort Sanders Confederate monument Saturday, Aug. 26, in light of the white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this month. Less than 40 protestors appeared in support of the monument, and nearly 3,000 counterprotesters were present even before the planned rally at 1 p.m.
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Protestors were separated by barricades and two rows of police officers standing in the street. 300 officers were on the scene and rotated positions. Police screened attendees with a metal detector and did not allow them to take in bottles, food, masks or items that could be used as weapons. Police officers also provided water to both sides. The rally was originally sparked by the potential removal of the Fort Sanders Confederate monument, which honors Confederate soldiers who fell during the Assault on Fort Sanders in 1863. The monument was vandalized with blue paint on Aug. 16, but has since been cleaned. The memorial was the subject of many online petitions, which asked Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero both to keep the monument intact and to take it away. This week, several local leaders released statements prior to the rally. Knox County
Mayor Tim Burchett and Republican primary congressional candidate Brad Fullington both condemned white-supremacist organizations, and UT Chancellor Beverly Davenport sent a message to the UT community, urging civil discourse and safety. In spite of the public’s wariness, the rally remained largely non-violent. Cooper Wade, an observer at the rally, said he came because of the national attention that similar rallies have received. “I just kind of heard it’s a real big thing, and I was like, ‘It’s not very good what’s been going on in Charlottesville (Virginia) and all over,’” Wade said. “It kind of seems like no one really showed up ... It’s really surprising. Even with all the police here, everyone seems like they’re being polite. Everyone’s being civil, and no one’s getting nasty, so that’s good to see.” While the rally was planned by the white
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supremacist group Confederate 28, who disbanded recently, many of the protesters in attendance did not identify as white supremacists. Will McNahan, Knoxville citizen and protester, said he felt the counter-protesters were there for the wrong reasons. “This (counter-protesting) is not how America handles things right here ... These kind of people are literally offended by everything,” McNahan said. “There’s millions of people who agree with what we do (support confederate statues) ... We don’t hate black people. There’s no Nazis over here ... They sit there blaming the few KKK, racist-type people on the Confederates ... This has nothing to do with racism. If you want to talk about racism, go find the racist groups. There’s nobody racist here. There’s no Nazi Germany here.” See PROTEST on Page 2
Monday, August 28, 2017