(Editor’s Note: This article is now complete.)
We’re LIVE! at Danville City Hall for tonight’s City Council meeting. It’s going to be a long one, so thanks in advance for following along with SouthsideCentral. We’ve already got our “pregame show” article with what’s been going on up to now.
Refresh this page often for the latest happenings, photos and commentary. We’ll clean this article up and add bonus coverage once we get home tonight. Buckle your seatbelts… we’re going LIVE!
It’s 6:55 PM and we’re about to get underway. Somebody in the crowd notices that one of the TV stations is shooting B-roll footage so here comes the inevitable wave your flags moment.
Hey, look! We’re going to be on TV!
We’re underway and the first thing is Mayor Sherman Saunders asking that visitors not wave their flags. John Gilstrap leads the prayer and pledge of allegiance. Saunders gives out some confusing information saying that flag speakers can be heard during the flag ordinance part of the agenda, but anybody can still speak in the public comment section. If you speak about the flag in the public comment section, you don’t get a second speech later. But if you speak about something other than the flag, then you…ah hell, just get on with it.
Tony Lundy does not have the wizard power of making a ball of light appear. That’s the camera light from WSET.
Tony Lundy is up first. He says he offered $500K to buy the museum but heard nothing officially and now the time has ran out on his offer. He also says he had an inspection on the property done in December. Lundy says he now has additional partners and will be making another offer soon. He points out that since the museum is paying $0.25 per year for the lease, he’s offering 2,000,000 years of lease payments up front. He originally says two million dollars, then catches himself quickly. If he offers $2,000,000 for the property, he’s just bought himself a mansion.
Lawrence Campbell is not speaking about the flag… yet.
Lawrence Campbell speaks next about the upcoming Community Day at Bibleway Church. Nothing flag related so there goes another Longshot bet. Ugh.Campbell said they had over 70 people at the last planning meeting. Go figure, nothing was sent to SouthsideCentral about promoting this event. Jock Owens is up next. He’s been one of the sanest voices on the flag supporters’ cause. He introduces his wife, great-granddaughter of Robert E. Lee. Avon Keen is up next.
Avon Keen is against the flag. Wow, didn’t see that one coming. Sorry for the semi-blurry photos, folks.
Carol Walton speaks in favor of the flag and her speech falls flat.
He says that the Confederate cause must not win. Time is called. Barry Koplen is next. Nancy Pritchett speaks next and tells a personal story. Carol Walton is next. All speakers are “good” so far. Well, I wrote that too fast as Carol Walton went way off track.
Ricky Pritchett is up next.
Pritchett’s “If you’re against the flag, you’re against Danville” line falls flat with me.
Scot McKenzie uses 90 seconds of his time greeting everybody. He equates the flag to a burning cross.
Yet again, everybody’s position on the issue has remained the same.
This speaker is combative and angry. It’s a total failure and just wipes out any good reaction that the flag supporters have. Plus, I think I’ve seen this guy before on TV.
Separated at birth?
Well after that, how could this get any worse? Why, it’s Glenn Scearce! His inanity broke my phone camera. Dammit. Reboot time. And we’re back. While we were gone, Glenn Scearce was able to win the “What The Hell Is He Talking About?” Jackpot by getting every one of his “facts” totally wrong. We’ll reset the jackpot and have it available for the next time Scearce speaks (which hopefully is never).
H.K. Edgerton comes to town to speak.
If you had “Black non-Danville resident speaks in favor of the flag” as a sidebet, collect your winnings at the cashier window. Actually, Edgerton does a great job. You can tell he’s passionate about his cause.
Ed Clark is up next.
Ed did a great job speaking tonight. He didn’t get loud, boisterous or animated. I was able to follow his speech perfectly.
Cory Lollis wraps things up
Only a few bizarre speakers tonight and we move to business. The consent agenda passes 9-0. The flag ordinance is moved to the top of the New Business section. Gary Miller is given credit for making the motion, and Larry Campbell gets the second. Discussion time.
Larry Campbell goes first and says “Where do we go from here?” but doesn’t mention the flag. Fred Shanks makes a substitute motion to direct the city manager to start the process to sell the Sutherlin Mansion. That fails on a 2-7 vote, with Buddy Rawley voting yes.
Buddy Rawley speaks strongly against the ordinance and gets a roaring standing ovation. Sherman Saunders gets peeved and asks for “no more outbursts”.
James Buckner lays a smackdown by saying most of the flag supporters that have spoke, called him or stopped by his business have been non-Danville residents. Gary Miller chastises people for threats that have been made.
Fred Shanks speaks again and says although his motion failed, he still asks for a NO vote and a sale of the mansion. John Gilstrap recites history and gets grumbles of disapproval from the flag supporters. Larry Campbell speaks again and mentions the flag. While he speaks, City Manager Joe King gets up and has a quick huddle with Sherman Saunders. A small amount of applause gets a nasty glare from Saunders. We’ve hit the 100 minute mark and somebody needs a nap. Or a smoke break.
Lee Vogler is now speaking. The King/Saunders huddle was to remind Saunders he promised comment time during the issue. Tony Lundy says his people are starting a political action committee and will work against Council members who vote for the ordinance. He also mentions the lawsuit that is coming. Lawrence Campbell speaks about Danville’s past racism. Some flag supporters do the ol’ LOL literally after he mentions the KKK. Hoo Boy.
This speaker gives his history speech.
Next we have a 16 year old from Mechanicsville. He says “If Council takes the flag down, we will pepper the city with Confederate flags.” Um. If it’s on private property, help yourself. Another speaker for the flag gets applause so Saunders says “Because I asked for no further outbursts, I will close the public hearing.” Um. There was no public hearing opened. Vote time and the ordinance passes by our 7-2 prediction. All of the flag people are leaving the building. We move to the around the horn section to wrap things up.
Buddy Rawley calls out Glenn Scearce for having wrong information all of the time. Bwahahahaha! Alonzo Jones & John Gilstrap do indeed mention the upcoming College Bonanza 2015.
I have to thank Lee Vogler for the Happy Birthday wishes. What a way to spend your birthday, folks.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the most detailed LIVE! coverage and recap of this meeting that you’d find anywhere.
How many citizens of Danville, Virginia were turned away at the door of City Council tonight to allow people from Pittsylvania County, Providence, NC and other non-residents to speak on an issue that is outside of their legal residence? I know of at least 2 people that were not allowed inside the chambers and I’m sure there were more.
Eleventy billion.
Happy Birthday Bruce, what a party you’re having.
“His inanity broke my phone camera” LOL!!!
BTW, happy birthday! You deserve a few drinks after this!
“John Gilstrap recites history and gets grumbles of disapproval from the flag supporters.”
So much for the historic preservation angle, flaggers.
they don’t want actual history…doing so would force them to acknowledge the irremovable racist aspect that was the ‘corner-stone’ of the whole Confederacy.
Happy Birthday Bruce!!!!
[…] Danville City Council – LIVE! (8/6/15) […]
[…] council meeting — one of several that addressed the issue over the years — was packed with supporters and opponents of the flag. Representatives from both camps waved American and […]
[…] council meeting — one of several that addressed the issue over the years — was packed with supporters and opponents of the flag. Representatives from both camps waved American and […]
The Liberty Tree.
Danville is actually not a very important place. It is a small city that is getting smaller. The world’s population is about 7.25 billion people. Danville only ads 44,000 to that number. It does not matter to the rest of the world that a lot of people in Danville lost their freedom of speech and thought recently. In the whole scope of things it will not make a ripple. Perhaps the loss of freedom of thought is more disturbing. City council members Miller, Saunders, Campbell informed the world they are able to see what other feel without talking to or even seeing them. They stated unequivocally that the Confederate flag represents hate. They never once qualified the statement by saying that is their feelings, and theirs only. Miller is a heart doctor, but should be a eye doctor since he can see what other people see, or so he thinks. He can’t believe anybody could possibly see the Confederate flag represents bravery, gallantry, selfless sacrifice, loyalty, and dedication. Anybody who does not agree with him can only be a hate-filled bigot. So they flag must go. There is not room, in Danville for a difference of opinion. So who cares if one branch of the Tree of Liberty has been chopped off in Danville? Really, does it matter? A minority group such as the Heritage Preservation Association does not have the same rights as everybody else do they?
“First they came for the Communists but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists but I was not one of them, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews but I was not Jewish so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me”.-Martin Niemoeller
At the same time Danville’s city council voted to stifle free speech, you can be sure somewhere,in a extra hot room of Hell, Heinrich Himmler was surely smiling and applauding
“As a people, we are fighting to maintain the Heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race; a white flag would thus be emblematical of our cause.… Such a flag…would soon take rank among the proudest ensigns of the nations, and be hailed by the civilized world as the white man’s flag.… As a national emblem, it is significant of our higher cause, the cause of a superior race, and a higher civilization contending against ignorance, infidelity, and barbarism. Another merit in the new flag is, that it bears no resemblance to the now infamous banner of the Yankee vandals.”
William Thompson – Daily Morning News 1863 (three different quotes, from three different issues that year)
This was the designer of the 2nd National Flag
The only reason they added the red stripe to the 3rd one…is because it looked like a flag of surrender without the help of the wind.
(which is fitting, because they were going to need one later!)
So, you can keep pretending like it has nothing to do with racism…but you’d be sorely mistaken.
Do you know who wrote this remark Donald? “there is a physical difference between the white and black races that will for ever forbid the two races from living together on terms of social and political equality.” His solution was a form of ethnic cleansing: shipping blacks off to Liberia, or Haiti, or Central America — anywhere as long as it wasn’t the United States. I will give you a hint he was the 16th President of the United States.
I would not ever deny that the nation as a whole was racist after slavery was abolished.
Height of desegregation into public schools was in the 80’s..the 1980’s!
But that does not negate the racist intention of the 2nd national flag’s designer, which carried over into the 3rd national flag.