SALISBURY, N.C. — Salisbury City leaders will hear from the public Monday night about a controversial Confederate statue.
The statue named "Fame" has been standing in the city for more than a century, but it's been vandalized twice in the last year.
It's a controversy that's been brewing for more than five years and dividing the town.
The monument has stood downtown since 1909, and now there's a push to take it down completely. Still, many want it to stay put.
The public forum is supposed to be a chance to figure out a solution to make everyone happy. Anyone in the community can speak.
The group that owns the statue and the land it stands on, the United Daughters of Confederacy, said there's nothing to talk about, and they won't be at the meeting.
They sent NBC Charlotte a copy of the statement they sent to the mayor, which read in part, "What is there to discuss? Recent polling revealed the majority of the citizens want the monument to remain undisturbed."
The statement went on to say, "The subject is moot. We are of the opinion this meeting is being held to continue to divide the community."
The Salisbury city attorney said the city council has no jurisdiction over whether to move the statue. State law said the statue can't be moved unless the Confederacy group who owns it agrees.
