NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A U.S. Colored Troop statue will be erected in downtown Franklin, while some fight to take down a confederate monument in the city center.
Children and visitors in downtown Franklin can now read about the U.S. Colored Troops, and those who lost their lives fighting in the civil war. Nearly 185,000 men served in the U.S. Colored Troops. While most of the men were black, the officers were not, according to information from the National Archives.
The statue made possible by the Fuller Story Project, a group that plans on unveiling a statue outside the old court house on Juneteenth.
The new statue will be across from a confederate monument that locals named ‘Chip’ because a piece of it was chipped off. Ryan Roland said he wants ‘Chip’ removed because he feels the monument represents racism.
“And then there’s a lot of people arguing that it’s history, but to me how is that history when it was erected during Jim Crow segregation, separate but equal ya know, to let African Americans in the community know that this is still a white confederate community,”Ryan Roland said.
He started a petition that’s gained nearly 10,000 signatures from people who believe the monument should be taken down. “If you really think your history and your pride is more important than being put down every day because of a statue in the middle of your town... I just don’t think that’s right.”
There’s also a court battle between the City of Franklin and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. According to the group’s attorney, Douglas Jones, they paid for ‘Chip’ so the monument belongs to them.
“We don’t need to erase our history,” Douglas Jones said, “The bottom line is, this isn’t city property, it’s not the City of Franklin’s decision.”
Ultimately, a judge will decide in coming months.
“They just completely destroyed like 4 blocks of homes over there to rebuild Mack Hatcher there’s no reason the City of downtown Franklin couldn’t just claim imminent domain and take over what 200 square feet of land," Roland said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Chris Williamson says he’s turning his attention to getting the U.S. Colored Troop statue ready, so that it paints a broader picture of history. “It’s going to be a unifying day. I’ll probably cry a whole lot.”
Dr. Williamson said at first he wanted the confederate monument removed, but now he’s okay if it stays since the U.S. Colored Troop statue will be erected. They raised about $100,000 to make it happen.
