Written by Savanna DiStefano and Sarah Dixon<\/p>\n
On Friday, Aug. 18, Arkansas residents gathered in front of the White County Courthouse in Searcy in response to an alleged threat by computer hacker group Anonymous to tear down a monument dedicated to Confederate soldiers of White County. Several monument defenders carried Confederate flags.<\/p>\n
According to participants, information about the demonstration was shared primarily through social media. Few confrontations occurred during the demonstration, none physical.<\/p>\n
Stone County resident Billy Roper attended the gathering representing the ShieldWall Network, a white Nationalist group that strives to \u201cthink racially, take a stand locally.\u201d Roper was strongly opposed to the alleged threat to the monument and came out to defend it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here to stop whomever would like to take down the Confederate monument because they\u2019re trying to destroy our people\u2019s culture and heritage and history on the way towards white genocide, on the way to extinction … They\u2019re working on making the people who founded this country a minority in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the demonstration, Roper was wearing a red \u201cArkansas Engineering\u201d T-shirt similar to that of former University of Arkansas (UARK) student, Andrew M. Dodson, who was photographed at the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 11. Roper, along with UARK engineering professor Kyle Quinn, was misidentified as Dodson and received threats following the release of photos from Charlottesville.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got dozens of death threats \u2014 threats to rape my wife, to kill my family. … I\u2019m completely fearless because the alternative, allowing our country to be destroyed and my people to become extinct \u2014 I\u2019m willing to die for that, and more importantly, I\u2019m willing to kill for that,\u201d Roper said. \u201cAnd so I wore this shirt because they accused me of being in Charlottesville, and I wasn\u2019t. But I have a lot of friends who were, and I respect the guys who were there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quitman resident Chad Fielding arrived at the Courthouse to defend the monument. He grew up near Searcy, where several of his relatives attended Harding. He said the monument, like the statue, represents his heritage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat statue represents everything America stands for\u2026 I have to come defend my statue,\u201d Fielding said. \u201cI believe \u2018heritage not hate\u2019 \u2026 (the Confederate flag) represents the South; I am from the South. You can\u2019t try to erase my heritage because people will still remember it. This is us out here reminding you that when you try to erase our heritage you have to peacefully divert their attention to something else. That\u2019s why we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c(The statue) is a part of history just like the Malcolm X monuments or Martin Luther King monuments \u2014 that is a part of our history. We don\u2019t want to tear down those monuments \u2026 that is what has turned us all into what we are today. Americans need to all stop fighting each other and realize there are a lot bigger fishes to fry than to worry about a little statue at a little courthouse in the middle of Arkansas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Junior Coleman Branum visited the protest, but said he believed the statue should be taken down in respect for Americans who are offended by the Confederacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand how (the monument) relates to people\u2019s ancestry here, but I also feel like a lot of what it stands for to a lot of people today is mostly negative.To anyone who wanted it to come down, it would be a race issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Katherine Dillion, associate professor of English, visited the courthouse gathering with a similar perspective.
\n\u201cI believe that just like in the Bible where it says if something is a stumbling block to your brother then you should give it up, and if this were stumbling block, which it is \u2026 It\u2019s not about denial (of the history), it\u2019s about celebrating it, and if you\u2019re standing there in the shadow of that as a celebration that the South tried to defend slavery and keep people down, that\u2019s the shameful part about our heritage,\u201d Dillion said. \u201cIt\u2019s one that has to be addressed but not celebrated, and I think it needs to be taken down, but I do believe it should be taken down in a peaceful manner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the alleged threat, no actions have been taken to destroy or deface the monument, and the demonstration remained a peaceful one. Local law enforcement kept watch as protesters shared their views on the courthouse lawn.<\/p>\n
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