By Bernie Delinski Staff Writer Published: January 22, 2026 FLORENCE — City councilmembers who voted down a marker designed to give context to the Confederate monument outside the Lauderdale County Courthouse expressed a desire for unity. Those favoring the marker said history must be fully addressed before unity is reached. Council members denied a request to place the marker on the courthouse lawn by a 4-2 vote with Jackie Hendrix, Josh Bowling, Thomas Spence and Chapel King opposing it,...

By: Kevin M. Levin Published: Jan. 21, 2026 The issue at hand for the Florence (Alabama) City Council this week was not whether their Confederate statue would be removed. That question had essentially been settled by the state when it passed the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act of 2017 , which which restricts removal or relocation of monuments older than 40 years without state approval and imposes penalties for unauthorized alteration. Rather, the question for the city council was whether a...

Author: Valentina Chelala, FOX54 News Published: 8:46 AM CST January 19, 2026 Updated: 6:23 AM CST January 20, 2026 FLORENCE, Ala. — Florence City Council will debate placing a historical marker in front of the Lauderdale County Courthouse to provide context about the Confederate monument there during Tuesday night's meeting. The resolution would authorize city officials to have the marker manufactured, installed, and funded. Under Alabama law, the monument is considered historic and cannot...