Differing thoughts on Confederate marker in Cape, agreement on Juneteenth

The nearly 90-year old Confederate States of America monument in Ivers Square in downtown Cape Girardeau, the subject of a recent petition effort, should be removed, said the president of Cape Girardeau’s NAACP.

“Any statue reminding people of slavery should come down,” said Pat Thompson-McBride, who has headed the local chapter of the civil rights organization since 2019.

“It should not be visible, period,” Thompson-McBride added.

The petition asking for the monument’s removal, signed online by more than 960 people as of Tuesday evening, was the handiwork of Cape Girardeau resident Sofia Voss.

Not everyone agrees.

“I struggle with removal and I’m OK with (the monument) staying there,” said Steven Hoffman, a Southeast Missouri State University history professor for 25 years and coordinator of the university’s historic preservation program since 2003.

“I’d support the taking down of any statue of Jefferson Davis or Robert E. Lee,” said Hoffman, referring to the former Confederate president and leading Southern general, respectively.

“(But) we should broaden and contextualize Cape Girardeau’s complicated history of slavery and what we have in Ivers Square now accomplishes this,” he said, “and I value this history.”

The back of the Confederate States of America monument is seen Tuesday, June 16, 2020, at Ivers Square in downtown Cape Girardeau.Jeff Long ~ jlong@semissourian.com

Voss attended the Cape Girardeau City Council meeting Monday with her father, who spoke briefly during public comment time.

“I believe the monument needs to go,” said Chuck Voss, whose remarks appeared in Tuesday’s edition of the Southeast Missourian. “This is as good a time as any.”

The online petition rejects Hoffman’s suggestion of historical legitimacy and reads in part:

“No matter what the ‘heritage not hate’ believers claim, the Confederate stance and flag represent nothing other than racism, and thus, [their] position in Cape Girardeau is ahistorical. In addition, the placement of this monument was initially at the foot of the old (Mississippi River) bridge to send a threatening message to all who enter — clearly not a stance we want to uphold. 2020 has been a tumultuous year for politics [and] has succeeded in bringing an issue that truly matters to the forefront, that is, of course, the ... Black Lives Matter (movement).”

According to previous Southeast Missourian reporting, the 14 1/2-foot-tall monument was first erected in 1931 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The marker commemorated the one Confederate unit gathered from Cape Girardeau during the Civil War. The hand-carved 12 1/2-ton monument was moved by the Civil War Roundtable in 1995 from its original location on Morgan Oak Street to what is now Ivers Square downtown.

After discussion, city staff was directed Monday to come up with options for the council to consider in the future.

The petition for the monument’s removal is at www.thepetitionsite.com/158/673/950/demand-removal-of-the-cape-girardeau-confederate-war-memorial-statue-and-fountain-now/?taf_id=65945035&cid=fb_na.

The Confederate States of America monument, lower left, is seen in 2017 at what is now Ivers Square in downtown Cape Girardeau.Southeast Missourian file

Juneteenth

Hoffman and Thompson-McBride agree completely that June 19 — Juneteenth — should be recognized as a national holiday.

On June 19, 1865, Union general Gordon Granger read federal orders at Galveston, Texas, that all previously enslaved people in Texas were free.

Two years earlier, Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation formerly freed slaves but since Texas was the most remote of the former slave states, enforcement of emancipation in the Lone Star State was slow and inconsistent.

“(Juneteenth) is very, very important for African Americans,” said Thompson-McBride, 70, who moved back to Cape Girardeau five years ago after a quarter-century in Missouri’s state capital.

“In Jefferson City, there is a huge celebration every year and streets are blocked off for Juneteenth,” said Thompson-McBride, who is also Missouri membership coordinator for the organization.

Forty-seven states, including Missouri, recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday.

Hawaii, North Dakota and South Dakota have no official Juneteenth remembrance.

This spring, Twitter, Nike and the National Football League announced they would regard Juneteenth as a company holiday, providing a day off for employees.

“I’d be very supportive of Juneteenth as a national holiday,” said Hoffman, adding “right now would be a good time to get it done.

“Juneteenth would recognize our common humanity. (A national holiday) wouldn’t solve the underlying issues that brought people into the streets after George Floyd’s death, but it wouldn’t hurt,” Hoffman said, referring to the black man who was killed at the hands of Minneapolis police May 25.

Reporter Ben Matthews contributed to this story.