Name: 'It's what I think' Mississippi official makes racist comments after Confederate statue vote
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'It's what I think' Mississippi official makes racist comments after Confederate statue vote

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Mississippi Clarion LedgerView CommentsCalls are increasing for a white Mississippi elected official to either step down as supervisor board president or resign entirely amid&nbsp;racist remarks he made to a local newspaper after voting against relocating a Confederate monument in front of the county courthouse.The official&nbsp;is not only rejecting those calls but doubling down on his stance.&nbsp;"I'm not going to stand and run from it, hell, it's what I think," Lowndes County Supervisor Harry Sanders said Tuesday.&nbsp;Monday, after a 3-2 vote to relocate a Confederate statue to the local cemetery failed, Sanders&nbsp;that Black people were dependent on society because they were "taken care of" during slavery.&nbsp;"In my opinion, they were slaves,&nbsp;and because of that, they didn't have to go out and earn any money, they didn't have to do anything," Sanders said.&nbsp;"Whoever owned them took care of them, fed them, clothed them, worked them. They became dependent, and that dependency is still there. The Democrats right here who depend on the black vote to get elected, they make them dependent on them."Sanders told the Clarion Ledger that&nbsp;his comments were made off the record but he stood by them.The Dispatch could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.Of the statue, Sanders told the paper, "We haven't had slavery in the United States for 150 years. Why is it still an issue?"Sanders also seemed to compare slavery to the internment of Japanese American citizens during World War II who were later paid reparations.&nbsp;"We didn't do the Japanese right here in World War II, we put them all ... in a concentration camp and everything and nobody said a damn word about it today," he said. "Are the Japanese all upset about that, burning stuff down and all that? No, they've (been) assimilated into the country and they are doing fine. The only ones that are having the problems, guess who? The African Americans."Tuesday morning, when asked if he understood how the comments could be perceived as racist, Sanders said, "I certainly do but, look, you can't change history. Am I not supposed to talk about what happened 150 years ago? Am I not supposed to talk about what happened in World War II with the Japanese? Am I not supposed to talk about any of that?"It comes off (as racist) because of the way they put it in the newspaper, that's not the way I said, it but that's OK."During Monday's supervisor meeting, Supervisor Leroy Brooks made the motion to relocate the statue. Sanders made a "compromise motion," he said, to put something on the monument with historical context, including "the Blacks and the slavery to say it was all wrong" but "they didn't want to even hear that."Sanders said he then withdrew the motion "because Leroy insisted I withdraw it when Leroy said ... 'Let's just go ahead and vote on not&nbsp;moving the statue.'""I gave a little and they didn't want to do anything about it," he said.&nbsp;Brooks said Sanders made a substitute motion to add context to the statue but did not provide additional details, a move he saw as a "distraction.""I said, 'I'd just rather you vote yes or no.' He never stated what we wanted on there, he was just trying to distract from what was the issue. If you added something, the statue was still there," Brooks said.The motion&nbsp;failed&nbsp;along racial lines. There are three white supervisors on the board and two Black.&nbsp;Regardless of Sanders' feelings on the issue, Brooks said, "that does not give him the right" to make the racist remarks. Brooks also noted that, with approximately 60,000 residents, Lowndes County is 46% Black.&nbsp;"If&nbsp;we were in a large city and an elected official says something like that, they would&nbsp;probably destroy the courthouse," Brooks said. "Whatever his motive was, for him to insult Black people the way he did and diminish us to the point of nothingness, who does that?"Lowndes County District Attorney Scott Colom condemned Sander's remarks, equating them to lies used by the KKK.&nbsp;"Supervisor Sanders' ignorant and vile comments have it backwards," Colom said. "Slave owners depended on beating, rape, separation of families and fear to maintain free labor.&nbsp;"These are the types of lies the KKK depend&nbsp;on to promote white supremacy. He should be ashamed of himself."The statue was erected in 1912 and is inscribed, "In honor of the soldiers of Lowndes County who nobly dared life and fortune in defense of the Southern Confederacy."Many have observed that, from a certain angle, a solider holding a flag l, a fact Sanders acknowledged.&nbsp;"Just because it looks like that, that's not what it means," he said.&nbsp;Sanders then asked, "What good does it do" to move the statue, saying, "it still represents the same thing.""Why would you spend $100,000 to move that statue to the cemetery when the city owns the cemetery and the city hasn't even voted to allow us to do it?," he asked.Columbus Mayor Robert Smith said the city would not only take the statue, they would split the cost to move it with the county. Smith noted that Friendship Cemetery has a section for Confederate soldiers where the monument could go.&nbsp;"The make up on the council is four African Americans and two whites, so you think they wouldn't vote for it, as much controversy as that statue has caused over the years?," Smith said.&nbsp;When he read Sanders comments, Smith said he was "shocked.""That was just a slap in the face to every Black citizen in Columbus and Lowndes County," Smith said. "His comments were despicable, they were insulting and a reflection&nbsp;of his true nature, which is unbelievably racist."With this day and time and everything going on, nationwide protests for social and equal justice, systematic racism, police brutality concerning African Americans, I am shocked that an elected official and president of the board of supervisors of Lowndes County would say something so insensitive and stupid, but, as Matthew 12:34 says, 'Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth does speak.'"Jeff Turnage,&nbsp;attorney for the Columbus City Council, said he is "very&nbsp;confident if the supervisors wanted a place to put that statue&nbsp;that the city would make a space for it in Friendship Cemetery&nbsp;or some&nbsp;other&nbsp;historic&nbsp;cemetery."On a personal level, Turnage said Sanders' comments are "reprehensible and despicable" and worried the impact they may have on out-of-state businesses wanting to locate to the area.&nbsp;"At the very least, he should be removed as board president by the board supervisors themselves," Turnage said. "He&nbsp;can't apologize his way out of it. He&nbsp;would be ineffectively leading the county, in my opinion, especially when the county owns a certified mega site and is trying to build economic&nbsp;development&nbsp;out there.&nbsp;It just wont work.&nbsp;I'm scared for Columbus, that was the worst thing he could have said right now."Joe Max Higgins, president of the Golden Triangle LINK, said Sander's comments would likely hurt Lowndes County. Higgins has also been outspoken about Mississippi's flag with the confederate symbol, saying it "sends a bad message for business."&nbsp;The county is home to multiple national and international businesses, including Stark Aerospace, Steel Dynamics and Airbus Helicopters."God, what was he thinking? I can't fathom what he was thinking," Higgins said.&nbsp;"It will be hurtful for us in recruiting business, hurtful for the community. I suspect it will get national attention.&nbsp;We can't support that view and&nbsp;I don't think it paints the adequate representation of who we are in the Golden Triangle."Brooks, who has been a supervisor for 36 years, said he has historically seen Sanders&nbsp;as a "bully" who has been "empowered to a point that he didn't know when to stop."&nbsp;The comments "stepped over and across a line that unforgivable," Brooks&nbsp;said. "What he's done now is probably worse than what he's done in the last twenty-something years.""I don't know what the end consequence is going to be in terms of the community but&nbsp;I would think if business people looked and read that, coming from the board president, they would certainly have to question, 'What kind of community is that?;" Brooks said.&nbsp;In speaking with the Clarion Ledger, Sanders did not apologize for his remarks. Of the statue, he repeatedly&nbsp;said,&nbsp;"you can't change history.""I like it where it is, I don't want to move it," Sanders said.&nbsp;"It's been there 100 years and there's no reason to remove it. You can't change history by sweeping it under the rug. You can't change what that statue says. You need to just accept what it says and move on with your life."When asked if he understood how Black residents of Lowndes County could feel like their&nbsp;feelings toward the statue aren't being acknowledged, Sanders said, "The Black people aren't acknowledging how white people feel.""They say 'Black Lives Matter', white lives matter too, Chinese lives matter...they tore down Christopher Columbus' statue.&nbsp;George Washington owned slaves. Do you want to change the name of the Washington Monument, do you want to change the name of our capital? You want to change the name of Jefferson Davis County, do you want to change the name of Lee County, change the name of Forrest County? There's got to be a stopping place someplace."In light of Sanders' comments, Brooks said he has received more phone calls from concerned citizens than he has in recent memory.&nbsp;"If there was any&nbsp;question about whether the Black community was unified, Harry Sanders unified. They're all saying the same thing, 'It's time for him to go, he can't represent Lowndes County any more.'"There will be a press conference Wednesday with the NAACP to condemn Sanders' comments and call for his resignation, Brooks said.&nbsp;The Dispatch has also&nbsp;When reached by The Clarion Ledger Tuesday, Sanders had not yet seen The Dispatch's article or editorial."The Dispatch doesn't vote for me, so I'm not worried about what The Dispatch thinks of me," he said. "Hell no, I'm not gonna resign."Do you want to stay&nbsp;informed on more topics like this one?&nbsp;Contact&nbsp;&nbsp;at 601-961-7303 or&nbsp;. Follow her on&nbsp;&nbsp;and&nbsp;.View Comments

Mississippi Clarion LedgerView CommentsCalls are increasing for a white Mississippi elected official to either step down as supervisor board president or resign entirely amid&nbsp;racist remarks he made to a local newspaper after voting against relocating a Confederate monument in front of the county courthouse.The official&nbsp;is not only rejecting those calls but doubling down on his stance.&nbsp;"I'm not going to stand and run from it, hell, it's what I think," Lowndes County Supervisor Harry Sanders said Tuesday.&nbsp;Monday, after a 3-2 vote to relocate a Confederate statue to the...

'It's what I think' Mississippi official makes racist comments after Confederate statue vote

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