Monday letters: Tillman statue in class of its own

I am not an S.C. native, but I have lived here for 26 years. This whole “take down that flag” debate has been quite enlightening for me.

I knew that Robert E. Lee graduated from West Point and was asked to lead the Union Army but deferred to Virginia. What I didn’t know is that he wanted Confederates to furl the flag after the war, and he didn’t want it at his funeral.

My younger brother played Little League Baseball more than 50 years ago. What I didn’t know is that Dixie Youth baseball was created in opposition because Little League was integrated.

There’s a statue of Ben Tillman at the State House. Ben Tillman? Who’s that? Must be a Civil War hero I didn’t know about, I figured, so I researched him.

Do I think that the states that were part of the Confederacy should remove all of their monuments, change street names or whatever? No. They will be a reminder of something that this country (both North and South) should never be proud of.

Do I think that the statue of Ben Tillman should be removed? Absolutely.

West Columbia

This story was originally published July 19, 2015 at 7:32 PM.