It’s been a week since Danville City Council officially killed the Confederate Flag issue. That means it’s time to wrap it up with a final Winners & Losers article.
Let’s start it off with a Big Board of Winners:
Winners:
- The Confederate Flag: Yeah, it’s an inanimate object but it’s the biggest winner of them all. That piece of flying fabric is going to be on the Sutherlin Mansion grounds longer than the Museum of Fine Arts will be.
- Avon Keen: Yeah, I am saying that. Avon Keen’s presentation against the Confederate flag was soft-spoken but powerful. Of all the anti-flag speakers, Keen did the best job by far.
- Buddy Rawley: The horsecrap stops here. He’s been Rawley Unchained for the last two months and he’s been right on target.
- Sherman Saunders: Saunders jumped in exactly when it was needed to bring order back to the meeting. I’ve yelled before at Saunders’ tendency to try and cut debate off, but that’s not the case here.
- Alonzo Jones: Jones was the biggest surprise of the night. After seconding Larry Campbell’s “Up or Down vote on the flag” motion, Jones showed a welcomed independent streak in the debate by saying he was totally against Campbell’s motion once he heard it completely.
- Gary Miller: Miller also showed his powerful side by calling out all the people that had made threats in any manner against council members over the flag issue. That needed to be called out and Miller nailed it.
- Vernell Gwynn: As the leader of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Gwynn spoke softly and firmly one time and that’s all she needed to do to get her and her organization’s opinion clear. She is an excellent spokesperson for the group. Gwynn even nailed it at the Veterans Day Parade by appearing in his full dress, adding a well-needed touch of class to the flag supporters.
- Steve Adkins: Adkins was the star of the night for the flag supporters. He was dressed appropriately and spoke without any ridiculous rhetoric.
- Clarke Whitfield: I know my parliamentary procedure. So does the city attorney because in a complicated moment of motion substitutions and amendments, he ruled correctly on what took precedence and how the votes should proceed.
- Chuck Vipperman: He had a legitimate reason to miss this
circusCity Council meeting. I was jealous of him for that. - Don Robertson: Why not? I just mentioned the other 2 members of the WBTM GW Football broadcast team.
Now let’s look at a Big Board of Losers:
Losers:
- Most of the flag supporters: I’m lumping them together because it was just pretty much the same performance by each of the speakers. They won in the end, but it wasn’t because of their efforts. Most of their speeches were cringeworthy and went way off-topic. The photos showed that their attire didn’t help their cause at all. The slow raising of Confederate flags during anti-flag speakers was inexcusable, and planting three of those flags at the Harry Wooding statue outside of City Hall as they left sunk their performance even more.
- Petrina Carter: Her speech which consisted of her reading an email about the lack of minorities in “Frozen” and the Ferguson, MO shooting incident completely killed whatever point she was trying to make.
- Tommy Bennett: Once he tried to equate his and his mother’s horrible treatment during voting in the 1960’s to the flag issue, his speech went bad fast. After that, he tried to talk about a similar cause in Harrisonburg, but Lee Vogler blew that up quickly by correctly stating that the applicable state laws have changed since then. Bennett started to unravel and his credibility went downhill.
- Larry Campbell: What the heck? We knew that Campbell was against the flag, but his motion for the up or down vote on the flag’s future went completely against the city attorney’s legal advice. If Campbell’s substitute motion had passed, he was setting the city up for a legal battle that they would probably lose. Campbell’s theory that the city’s litigation costs would be covered by the Virginia Municipal League was quickly challenged by Fred Shanks and Gary Miller. Campbell’s motion was voted down, with the only YES votes coming from Campbell and mysteriously from …
- Sherman Saunders: What? Saunders made a vague “This is a no-win decision” comment during the debate then voted in favor of Campbell’s motion. If you’re going to go against the city attorney’s advice and open up the city to a potential lawsuit, you should tell why you’re willing to do such a stupid thing. At least Campbell laid out his reasoning. Saunders is the chairman of the meeting, but he’s allowed to participate in the open debate. That rarely happens, but it was needed this time.
- Mark Aron: I know what it’s like to try to put a 2 hour & 50 minute TV program into your playlist scheduler. Mr. River City TV now has the same problem.
- The Danville-Pittsylvania County Community Service Board of Directors: They had to wait just shy of 2 hours and 30 minutes to get their presentation in. By then, everybody had the attitude of “Make this night end NOW!”. Angela Fowler still did a great job.
- WSET: They were the only “local” media that wasn’t there. Maybe it had something to do with being called out for RottenReporting?
Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments. We’ve got more coming up on SouthsideCentral!
Add to you list of losers the Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History. They lost big time. They tried to sneak this past the citizens of Danville, even tried to sneak it past the Eliza Johns Chapter of UDC. The UDC saved that building. They raised $20,000 back 100 years ago to save it from destruction. I can’t say for sure, but I think that must have been like raising half a million dollars today. What an insult! More specifically, the museum’s board lost. The board packed itself with people of the same political persuasion (without public input) in order to advance the flag removal process. People who wanted to serve on board were vetted on the flag removal proposal, and anybody who was not in favor was not considered for appointment for the board. A substantial portion of the board was just recently appointed. If the museum does not like the Confederate Flag, they should make plans to move out of the Sutherlin Mansion at once. I dare say the Museum will find any fund raising efforts in the future will be less fruitful.
Or did they win? They kept radio silence after their request and let everybody else fight it out. They’ll end up with a new home if what I think happens and will end up just fine.
How does the very constrained reading of the statute chosen by the Council give them any room whatsoever to sell the building? They’re certainly not going to use it for any official city business with that flag flying out front.
I think the museum lost a lot of good will from folks in this community by creating a controversy which was both unneeded and unwelcome. Polarizing our community should not be a function of a museum.
I seriously doubt this nonsense is over. Some idiots will jump in and stir it all up again. Never forget that we are talking Danville.
Not over
It almost feels like it was a deliberate distraction from the Utility company issue of over time,The 3.4 million owed to the tobacco commission because a couple of people duped the city. The new hospital leader,and a few other subjects,The flag is where it is because of agreements made 20 years ago to remove it from the roof of the house and the monument was agreed to be where it would fly. Why is it some people can not abide to an agreement and leave well enough alone.
20 years is a long time. I don’t consider myself bound by the agreement. I moved here about 8 years ago. I also don’t really about this issue except to the extent that it exposes some really interesting things about the community and the relationship part of it has with the rest of it.
If you are not a city resident, you have no standing on the flag issue.
You are welcome to your opinion and have the right to express it.
There are many black issues (also some white issues, so race is not the issue), that offend me, however my opinion doesn’t count.
Some things should be left alone.
I suppose you also don’t respect the state law.
I respect the state law well enough to have researched the issue. I respect the state law well enough to know that the Virginia Museum of Fine Art recently did the same thing the museum in Danville did in the face of the same threats of lawsuit based upon the strained reading of this statute and have not been sued. You know who is on the board of that museum? As I recall, it’s the Governor and the Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney among others.
The current governor of Virginia is worse than the former governor of Virginia.
Times change, people change, attitudes change.
You might be right. The council voted quietly to spend $2,000,000 of money without comment. That is $2,000,000 that is not in the budget, that was stolen by GOK and WebParts. They hoped nobody would notice.
You’d notice it if you’ve been reading SouthsideCentral.
as Buddy R said ” it’s time to move on. move forward” broken record. if I can drive on MLK Jr bridge blacks can either turn their head or accept the flag!!!! And remember —-MLK jr day and black history month are 2 & 3 months away….yet we can not have a flag …..double standards. ? should not beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee