City leaders meet with local residents to discuss Gonzales' Confederate Memorial

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GONZALES – A small group of city leaders met Thursday morning to hear the concerns of local resident Thomas Enriquez who has taken on the task of rallying minority leaders to stand in unity against Gonzales' Memorial to Confederate Dead, on the downtown Confederate Square.

Gonzales Mayor Connie Kacir was joined in the discussion by Councilman District 4 Dan Blakemore and Gonzales Police Chief Tim Crow. Enriquez was joined by Edwards Association President David Tucy.

Enriquez opened the discussion, bringing with him a copy of the Declaration of Causes (1861), which, as named, declares the causes which impelled the State of Texas to secede from the Federal Union. Enriquez also offered up copies of example resolutions on Confederate symbols in public and private spaces, a letter from President of the Austin NAACP Gary L. Bledsoe urging the city's support of minorities, as well as his personal written appeal to minority churches of Gonzales asking for support of his cause.

Enriquez said he came to the city looking for governmental support in his cause and in hopes he would find the city willing to accommodate the minority community in some way.

"You know we live in a community that is very diverse," Enriquez said. "We have a lot of African American people and a lot of Hispanic people in our community."

Enriquez said he attended seven churches over this past weekend. During these visits, he tried to learn the opinion of minority church pastors and congregants.

"The way they are feeling about it is 'Why should we have a man – who traded against the Union, who seceded from the Union, a man that stood for the enslavement of the men, women and children of the African American community and a man who fought to keep them enslaved – why should we have this in our downtown area?'," Enriquez said. "That isn't the reason people should be visiting Gonzales."

Enriquez said he does not understand the placement of the Confederate monument in Gonzales.

"We don’t have a statue of Santa Ana, the former dictator of Mexico – and this used to be part of Mexico – standing out there," Enriquez said. "And the reason why is the Mexican people understood that man lost and we accepted that fact and we assimilated and we became part of Texas. We became Tejanos and we pledged our allegiance to Texas and the American flag. So, in that same respect, we were able to accept the fact that Mexico became part of Texas, so people should be able to accept the fact that the Confederacy lost the war and that in fact we did stay part of the Union."

Enriquez said a lot of the churches in Gonzales want the monument taken down.

"But that's not how I feel," Enriquez said. "I feel like if we do something like that, we're going to divide our community, we're going to bring the most extremist elements of our community out."

Enriques said he knows the passions for the confederate monument run deep.

"I understand that there are people whose grandparents or family members who fought for that and they have very strong feelings about that and I can respect that. That is a cause that's deep to their heart; but at the same time, maybe there is something they can do to compromise with the minority community."

Enriquez suggested to city leaders they might consider the erection of a statue of Abraham Lincoln, for the minority community, since Lincoln had fought to abolish slavery, given his life for the cause.

"Maybe that would put all of this to rest," Enriquez said. “I think you all should be able to do that. Just accommodate the minority community with the statue. And, it'll be everybody's statue and not just your statue."

"It's just something we can look up at and feel pride, just like those people who look up at that Confederate statue have," Enriquez continued.

Kacir noted the city always invites its citizenry to come in and express feelings.

"I appreciate you making the inquiry with the city and your coming in and wanting to express your thoughts and your emotions on that particular issue," Kacir said. "I do feel that it's an opportunity for our community to find unity where our nation has elected in some areas to create a divide."

Kacir believes this is an opportunity for Gonzales to be set apart from the others – from the rest – and show that this is an opportunity for unity.

"That Confederate Soldier was placed there – as you stated – as a memorial to those who served, in fact that monument is inscribed 'Lest We Forget', so it stands for those who fought and gave their lives in a war that ended in giving all of us a new-found freedom," Kacir said. "I don’t feel that we can erase history, but we should honor that part of our history and that should be etched in our memories for generations to come. Through that pain and suffering the result was we had a new freedom and we had equality and that's what we celebrate today."

"That statue stands for a person who fought to enslave the men, women and children of that community,” Enriquez countered, as he claimed the monument did not mean the same for minorities as it does the Caucasian community. “That man didn't fight for the freedom of that community; that man fought to keep those people down, to keep those people from prospering, to keep those people from the pursuit of happiness. That man was not fighting for the values that you're speaking of right now."

Tucy spoke up and said he has been thinking about this issue for a quite some time – even before the recent events in Charlottesville, Va.

"I don't know how many African Americans in Gonzales actually really pay that much attention to the Confederate statue,” Tucy said. “I'm one who always has, because I really understand what it symbolizes. And I understand that it symbolizes a time in history a culture; but what that culture represents is a time in history when there was oppression and slavery and bigotry and everything horrific that went along with that and we know that. The inscription – I was talking to my son about it the other day – 'Lest We Forget', kind of reminds me of a scripture from the Bible: Psalms 91 – 'And god will give his Angels watch over us, to keep us in our ways and they shall bear us up in their hands, lest we should dash our foot against a stone.', so that 'lest' means 'just in case' – so this statue is erected just in case certain people in the community, or that believe in that culture, forget what it stood for; and it stood for – in my opinion – it stood for that culture of people being able to own people."

Tucy doesn't know if the statue should come down.

"I'll have to think about that a whole lot more," he said.

Tucy said the Daughters of The Confederacy erected the statue and a question that arises in his mind is: "Are they still the ones who maintain it?"

"Are my tax dollars being used to maintain something that I definitely oppose. Even though it is there, I oppose it. As an African American, I oppose it. Am I forced – in a way you know – am I forced to maintain something that I totally don't believe in," he asked. "If that's the case, then I don't think that that's fair."

Tucy has also heard the argument that Germany doesn't have statues of Hitler and schools named after Nazis.

"See after that war was over, Germany put a stop to that. They said 'Oh, no. Absolutely not.'" Tucy said. "But, in America we let it go and so it's very difficult to undo what has been done."

Tucy said he has also thought about the old saying: What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

"So, if that Confederate statue remains, then why don't we erect a statue of a slave right there beside it." Tucy asked. "I know this sounds weird – I know it does – but one of the most horrific statues that you can imagine – the slave with deep whip lashes across his back, bending over picking cotton, or doing whatever he had to do – right beside it, with the inscription 'Lest We Forget'."

Tucy said for the African American Community in Gonzales the only symbol of African American history available to them is the Edwards School grounds and they are working hard to preserve that.

"If the city can apply its resources to maintaining Confederate Square and the Confederate statue, then maybe the city can apply more resources to maintain the African American symbol, which is the Edwards School – The Edwards Community Center," Tucy said.

Kacir said she wanted to maintain a focus on unity and the opportunity that the city come together.

"Hatred is held in one's heart; it's not in that stone statue. Taking that down doesn't erase the feelings or the opinions of some," Kacir said. "I do think it's a call for us to continue to discuss and determine the different ways we can turn this into a celebration of unity and education, on everyone's part."

Kacir said the city does spend resources to support that Edwards legacy the African American community has – that we all have.

"It's ours; and there could be some that might look at the Edwards campus in the same way that people interpret the monument, but when we see that school – Edwards School was a part of our history – we don't want to erase it," Kacir said. "We celebrate today that we have freedom and we have equality – and that we no longer have to have separate schools but we are educated together."

Blakemore chimed in and said at the end of World War II the Germans tried to erase any symbol of Nazi-ism and that's commendable in one way.

"But, 'Lest We Forget', now we have a generation of young Germans coming up thinking that that never happened and that's wrong – just as wrong – because it did happen," Blakemore said.

Blakemore said he appreciates Tucy's idea to talk but he wants to take the talks further and find unity in a symbol that expresses 'Lest We Forget' for both sides.

"That's the solution. Will it happen overnight? No. It will not," Blakemore stated. "There's a proper way that has to be done and there has to be a lot of input."

Kacir said she hope to work with minority leaders and other community members to work toward a resolution. She said would like to see a committee formed to further community conversations.

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