The Confederate common soldier statue in Graham, North Carolina was erected by the Graham Chapter, of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in May 1914.
GRAHAM, N.C. — At the intersection of Main and Elm streets, the words “Our Confederate Soldiers” are inscribed at the base of a 30-foot-high monument.
Standing at the top of the monument in front of Alamance County’s Historic Courthouse, with a rifle in hand, is a statue of a Confederate common soldier.
The statue is dedicated to more than 1,000 men from Alamance County who died fighting for the Confederacy.
Whether the intentions of the statue were to honor the dead or idolize their cause, it has led to controversy within the almost 15,000 person community.
The roots of the controversy trace back to May 20, 1861, the day North Carolina seceded from the Union at the outset of the Civil War. Despite the passing of over 150 years, the date continues to cause conflict.
A year ago, in honor of the recognized state holiday, Confederate’s Day, Alamance County Taking Back Alamance County (ACTBAC),
a listed hate group, hosted a rally at the base of the statue.
This event brought attention from across the nation to the streets of Graham. On May 20, another organization is trying to bring that same attention back to the city, but for a different reason.
Loving Graham
The “Love Graham Sidewalk Festival” will be taking place from May 19-20. Instead of Confederate banners and battle flags, the city's streets will be packed with art, music, beer and puppies.
The event is being planned by Co|Operative, a grassroots organization focused on community development.
The festival is the brainchild of Chelsea Dickey, the director of community development at Co|Operative. With the help of Audrey Garton, the founder of the Independent Artist Movement (IAM), the two organizations were able to plan the entire event.
According to the event page on Facebook, the purpose of the festival is to celebrate Graham’s downtown and to bring the entire community together.
In order to host the event, Dickey and Garton presented the idea to the Graham City Council, who later voted 5-0 in favor of their request.
“We wanted to do something with a spring festival and show off our downtown,” Dickey said. “There are seven businesses coming in the next few months to downtown Graham, so [the festival] will also help promote the revitalization we are going through.”
To help with the festival’s attendance, Dickey says the event’s dates were chosen to coincide with Elon University’s graduation ceremony.
Elon junior Blaine Williamson has been working as the communications coordinator at Co|Operative for the last two years. She has played a significant role in organizing the art festival, but not as much of a role as Co|Operative has had on her college experience.
“Being an Elon student, we definitely have a built-in brand and when I started really getting invested in Graham, I realized we didn’t have something like that,” Blaine said. “Having a pride of place is really important and something I’ve been learning a lot about.”
The media analytics major took her passion for Graham and organized the creation of the city’s first slogan and logo.
With a $4,000 grant from the Impact Alamance Community Innovation Fund and nearly three months of work, Blaine helped develop the “Love Graham” logo.
“We wanted to incite two different messages,” Blaine said. “‘Love Graham,’ do that and be a part of this community, and ‘Love, Graham,’ like you are signing off a letter and Graham loves you back.”
Co|Operative and the IAM plan to paint Blaine’s slogan on a mural during the festival. The mural will include several different elements with deeper meanings.
Growing Plants
Frame
Hearts
Love, Graham
Individual Silhouettes
This is an interactive infographic of the smaller version of the mural that will be painted on the side of a building in downtown Graham during the art festival. The meanings of the different parts of the mural are available above. [Photo courtesty of Molly Feudale.]
Molly Feudale, one of the artists in charge of the mural, cannot wait to see her work come to life.
“The original concept of the mural was to make something that is positive and colorful and shows the love we have for our community,” Feudale said. “That’s why we wanted to incorporate a mural with the Love Graham Art Festival.”
According to Co|Operative’s Facebook page, merchandise featuring Blaine’s logo will also be available during the art festival, as well as on the Love Graham website Blaine built.
But Blaine’s excitement to finally see her logo being used has been dampened by the difficulties the art festival has encountered.
The Confederate Controversy
Visitors will be enjoying the festival’s events in the shadow cast by the Confederate statue in front of the courthouse. The statue has been the site of several events in the last few years.
“In the past there were a couple of demonstrations this weekend,” Dickey said. “We figured if we could have an art event and have a positive experience in downtown Graham and have it welcome to everyone, it would be more of a Graham we would claim.”
Dickey is referring to the ACTBAC rally hosted at the statue a year ago.
Despite the rally’s approval from the Graham City Council and a heavy police presence, counter-protesters flocked to the base of the statue, which led to five arrests.
But Confederate common soldier statues and the controversies they cause are not unique to Graham.
Statues such as the one in Graham reside in 48 of the 100 counties in North Carolina. Throughout the state, there are 53 of these statues standing.
This is a interactive map of all the common soldier confederate statues in the state of North Carolina. The Graham statue in Alamance County is emphasized in blue. The statue's information and photos are courtesy of the North Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial.
But following the Aug. 11, 2017, “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the deadly counter-protests, North Carolina has experienced several protests over the standing of these statues.
One protest in Durham County on Aug. 14, 2017, led to the toppling of the county’s statue. Similarly to Graham’s, the statue was located at the front of the county’s historic courthouse.
“They have
every right to be there and I hope they have a good event.”
Gary Williamson
Founder and President of ACTBAC
The threat of a similar confrontation or a retaliation protest from ACTBAC is what led Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson to request the Graham City Council to withdraw its approval for the art festival.
While Graham has jurisdiction over its streets, the city shares jurisdiction over the courthouse grounds with Johnson and his officers.
But Johnson’s requests have been denied, and his concern seems to be unfounded.
Gary Williamson, the founder and president of ACTBAC, says he has no idea why his organization is being included in discussions concerning the festival.
Williamson attributes the fear of his organization retaliating to the twist news organizations such as the Burlington-Times have put in their articles.
“The only reason this is an issue is because the Times-News made it an issue,” Williamson said. “I had no clue it was an attack against us until Alamance News and the Times-News stirred the pot. It has nothing to do with us. They have every right to be there and I hope they have a good event.”
ACTBAC’s Confederate Day celebration has been moved to May 10, 2018, the day Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States, was captured by the Union.
With the event now being moved, Jerry Peterman, mayor of Graham, hopes those choosing to celebrate Confederate Day will take time to visit the festival.
“Come and see what we are doing in downtown Graham,” Peterman said. “It is a festival to celebrate art, not that statue, or its removal … anyone that wants to be here and have a good time, please come down to Graham.”
Despite the controversy that Williamson credits to news outlets, this is exactly what he plans to do.
“I plan on going to see what it's all about,” Williamson said. “I plan on taking my kids.”
Williamson and his children will be able to enjoy the many artists the IAM is bringing together for the art festival.
Enjoying the Arts
Curry Wilkinson just moved into Burlington a few months ago, but has already built his reputation as the area's only contemporary wood-fire potter.
“I’m kind of new to the whole operation here,” Wilkinson said. “Since just coming back into the Burlington-Graham area, I want to find my niche in the community.”
As one of the featured artists at the festival, Wilkinson can’t wait to show the community the art he's been working on.
In addition to teaching pottery classes, Wilkinson has been spending most of his time building his own wood-fire kiln in his backyard.
The kiln Wilkinson is building is expected to be 23 feet long and 7 feet tall. When built, it will be Alamance County’s first wood-fire kiln.
But the construction of his kiln has taken a pause as Wilkinson has been focused on preparing for the festival. He wants his art to play a part in bringing the community together.
Curry Wilkinson and his wife Sarah, point to where the fire will be as they stand in the wood-fire kiln that Curry has been building since last winter.
“I really want people to feel a connection with Alamance County,” Wilkinson said. “I want people to focus a little more on Alamance County and its rich pottery roots.”
Even though the Confederate statue will cast its shadow over the “Love Graham Sidewalk Festival,” the shade will have no effect on festival-goers loving Graham.
Chelsea Dickey is the director of community development
at Co|Operative and helped organize the "Love Graham
Sidewalk Festival." Hear her talk about the
backlash she has gotten from the festival.
Molly Feudale is an art teacher in Alamance County
and has been helping design the mural for the "Love
Graham Sidewalk Festival." Hear her talk
about what she hopes the festival will do for the city.
Joshua Lanning is a dancer in Alamance County who
will be performing with his crew at the "Love Graham
Sidewalk Festival." Hear him talk about
what he hopes his performance will do.
Audrey Garton is the founder of the Independant Artists
Movement and helped organize the "Love Graham
Sidewalk Festival." Hear her talk about the
future of art festivals in Graham.
Jerry Peterman is the mayor of the city of Graham.
Hear him talk about what he is looking
forward to the most at the "Love Graham Sidewalk
Festival."
Melody Bodkin is an artist in Alamance County who
will be showing her art at the "Love Graham Sidewalk
Festival." Hear her talk about how she feels
about being a part of the festival.
Curry Wilkinson is Alamance County's only contemporary
wood-fire potter. Hear him talk about what
he hopes his art will do for the Graham community
during the "Love Graham Sidewalk Festival".
Blaine Williamson is a junior at Elon University and the comminications coordinator at the Co|Operative.
Hear her talk about what success means for the
"Love Graham Sidewalk Festival."
Chelsea Dickey is the director of community development
at Co|Operative and helped organize the "Love Graham
Sidewalk Festival." Hear her talk about the
backlash she has gotten from the festival.
Reported, photographed, filmed, designed and produced by Anton L. Delgado
