SALISBURY, N.C. — Tuesday night, Salisbury City leaders discussed the fate of "Fame," a controversial Confederate statue that has stood in downtown Salisbury since 1909. After several hours of public comment, the council voted to move the statue, declaring it a public safety issue.
In a 5-0 vote after discussion on how the statue's current location is impacting the community, council members described the statue as a "flashpoint" that has gotten bigger than the debate about heritage versus hate.
As part of the vote, Salisbury City Council has decided the monument must be moved within 30 days — by July 16.
Salisbury City Council also voted unanimously to allow the United Daughters of the Confederacy 10 days to enter an agreement with the City of Salisbury to pay for the relocation of the statue. The final decision on how the relocation costs will be covered has not yet been determined.
There had been tentative discussions between Salisbury City Council and the United Daughters of the Confederacy local chapter to permanently relocate the Fame statue.
The Fame statue displays an angel holding a Confederate soldier and sits in a median off the intersection of West Innes Street and Church Street. It pays tribute to Confederate soldiers from Rowan County.
There have been movements before asking city leaders to consider moving the monument, and the monument has been vandalized twice in the past two years.
The statue is owned by Robert F. Hoke, Chapter #78 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The land it sits on was also granted to them by the city in 1908, according to J. Graham Corriher, the city attorney for Salisbury.
It comes as monuments across the country have come into question following the death of George Floyd and the protests that have followed.