Florence city councilman weighs in on new historic marker that may be coming to downtown

By Jillian Kay Feb 9, 2024 Updated May 8, 2024

A new historic marker may be coming to downtown Florence.

Leaders of "Project Say Something" are working to get one put up outside the Lauderdale County Courthouse near a controversial Confederate monument.

Their goal is to educate the community about the Black experience during the Civil War.

Camille Bennett leads Project Say Something.

She says they're closer than ever to getting the change they say is necessary, and they are putting the spotlight on what they say are wrongs of the past.

"It would make history," said Bennett. "It's important because it educates the community. It's not necessarily about putting one side against the other, it's about education."

She says the marker would explain the Confederate monument from the Black perspective.

Bennett wants people to read and learn about the atrocities of slavery in America.

"Every time you look at this Confederate monument, we understand what it means and we understand that it means that our stories can't be told," continued Bennett. "That our perspective, the Black perspective, cannot be told."

WAAY 31 spoke exclusively with Florence City Councilman Bill Griffin.

He says the statue is on Lauderdale County property.

However, he has ideas to install the marker being pushed by "Project Say Something" across the street on what he says is Florence city property.

"My job is to solve problems and to bring people together, and I felt like that was an easy solution to fix something that has been broken for a long long time," said Griffin.

He says this is just an idea he's been thinking over.

He has not officially brought it to Mayor Andy Betterton or anyone else yet.

Yet, Griffin says he agrees with the reason behind Bennett's push for the marker.

"That's what we want. Never again do we want these things to happen," said Griffin. "That's not offensive, I think to either side. If we look back, we can have a clearer future if we stop doing the things that we did."

Betterton told WAAY 31 over that phone that the city council has made no decision to install the marker.