TIMLENNOX.COM: Opinion: Lessons from Danville, VA, for Montgomery, AL

The last capitol of the Confederacy has some lessons to share with the first Capitol of that failed rebellion against the United States of America.

That last city would be Danville, Virginia providing the instruction and the first, Montgomery, Alabama listening...if it will.

"The only other Confederate memorials on city property are the small base of the empty flagpole at Sutherlin Mansion and a statue at city hall of Harry Wooding, who served as mayor for 47 years but is also lauded for his stint in the Confederate army as a teenager.
Bennett, the local NAACP chief, wants the flagpole and statue to come down, but said they are not a priority.
“We’ve got a lot of things to work on,” he said, citing the need for affordable housing, accessible health care and getting people to vote in upcoming elections."

(Article in The Washington Post, 9-20-2020)

For all of the years I have lived in Montgomery the city has been trying to market itself as a dual-personality location for tourists.

Cradle of The Confederacy & Birthplace of The Civil Rights Movement....as reflected in the city's official seal:

Mayor Todd Strange offered an alternative tourism slogan: "Montgomery, City of Dreams", but the city seal remained the same.

Step right up Americans....come see the place where there was enough hatred for The Confederacy to be born here...enough hate for African- Americans to be bought and sold at the foot of Dexter Avenue...and, much later, the place where the hatred led to another revolt...a movement to provide equal rights for all.

After George Floyd, and the events following his murder by police, is it still smart for the Capital City of Alabama to sell itself the same way? At the very least, should the city seal be changed?