by: Lynsey Smith
FLORENCE, Ala. (WHNT) — City officials have reached a tentative agreement to settle a free speech lawsuit brought by a social justice group that staged dozens of protests against a confederate monument between 2020-2022 in the city.
According to court documents, the two sides tentatively agreed to dismiss the lawsuit as long as the city council adopts changes, including changes to the chapters of its city code regarding noise and parade permits.
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During Tuesday’s Florence City Council meeting, council members voted unanimously to amend chapter 17 of the city’s code regarding parade permits. However, the ordinance amending Chapter 15 regarding noise did not pass.
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Five council members voted in favor of the ordinance amending the chapter, but Councilman Jimmy Oliver stated he wanted to see the final wording of the amended ordinance before voting.
“I’m disappointed that they did not take the time to prepare properly for this meeting today. A lot of time was wasted yet again. It’s only a few weeks, but a few weeks is a long time to us because we’ve been waiting for two years,” Project Say Something Founder Camille Bennett said.
This vote comes after members of Project Say Something, a nonprofit organization that led protests against the ‘Eternal Vigil’ monument, said the city used its noise ordinance to stifle the group and its parade ordinance kept them in a “protest zone” at the intersection of Court Street and Tennessee Street.
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“We aren’t very public about our plans to protest because it’s not safe for us to do so…but when the need arises, you better believe we’ll be out there,” Bennett stated.
The 20-foot-tall monument depicts a nameless Confederate soldier, and it sits outside the Lauderdale County Courthouse. Project Say Something began almost daily protests against the monument in 2020 following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
“We work on public policy, namely anti-black public policy. We are not just about confederate monuments, though that is an important issue to us,” added Bennett.
The city council is expected to vote on the ordinance amending chapter 15 regarding noise at their next meeting.
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