MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — While the confederate monument that stood in front of the Historic Manatee County Courthouse is gone, it's evident that it's not forgotten.
In 2017, protests broke out, calling for the monument to come down.
In the middle of the night, it did, along with a promise to figure out where it goes next.
"We had some, some constituents and residents who came forward in a workshop at the beginning of the year and said; it's a new year. And these promises have gone unfulfilled up to this point in time. What is the plan for the board? And what is the plan for this monument?" said County Commission Chairman Kevin Van Ostenbridge.
Under a county commission filled with new faces since that promise, a 5-2 vote approved weighing where the statute will go.
"We're going to discuss repairing the monument and the cost, the logistics of that. And then where you know, if it's going to be resurrected and repaired, where will the new home be?" he added.
One thought: right where it once stood.
"Personally, I would like to see the monument repaired and returned to the courthouse steps, which is what I've said all along. But I think it should be accompanied by a plaque that sort of explains the Civil War and explains a lot of the issues and the cultural issues and the social issues that were taking place at that time," he said.
Manatee County Commissioner Jason Beard anticipates plenty of conversation surrounding the monument.
"There's people that want it back up, there's people that don't want it back up. You know, that's why it's such a touchy and sensitive issue as a community, as a whole. You know, and that's why I'm going to do my best to evaluate both sides and make the best possible decision," he said.
Organizations like Manatee Patriots are leading the charge to see the monument return.
Eddie Waters, who has lived in Manatee County for the last 50 years, disagrees.
"In my opinion, it should stay down," he said.
It's a conversation Eddie Waters never thought we would have again.
"I want to know what was the purpose of them taking it down if you go to have an issue about putting it back up, you know. And, to me, that's just as confederate as it can get," he added.
Waters says a confederate monument doesn't belong on government property.
Especially one he and others have already fought to remove.
Then there's repairing the monument. When it was removed, it was broken into three pieces. The monument, which was placed in the 1920s by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, is now fragile.
"Staff has reached out to a couple of companies, and we don't have a quote on the repair. But we at least have received some insight as to how the repair had to take place. Wherever the new home for the monument is, that's where the repairs gonna have to take place gonna take place on-site because it's too fragile to continuously be moved around," Chairman Van Ostenbridge explained.
There’s no scheduled date for commissioners to vote on bringing the memorial back. Further conversation is expected to happen in the future.
