“This isn’t just a local issue—it’s about how we remember and how we repair.”
– Camille Bennett,
Founder & Executive Director
Demand the Truth. Defend Our Dignity. Denounce Hate.
In 1903, a Confederate monument known as Eternal Vigil was unveiled at the Lauderdale County Courthouse in Florence, Alabama. Its dedication speech described Black residents as a “mongrel race” and explicitly declared they would never be granted social equality.
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Over 120 years later, that monument still stands.
Worse still, the Florence City Council has refused to approve a simple historical marker to acknowledge the racist origins of the monument and affirm that these words do not reflect our community’s values.
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We say: No more.
What We’re Fighting For
Project Say Something and community members across Florence have been organizing since 2017 to challenge symbols of white supremacy and demand racial justice. We called on the Florence City Council to approve a historical marker to be placed next to the confederate monument and to acknowledge the harm this monument continues to inflict on our community. After several votes and re-votes, Florence City Council REFUSES to acknowledge the harm this monument perpetrates to our community. The council refused to approve a historical marker that was made in partnership with Florence City's Historical Commission stating that the marker does not "contextualize the monument in a positive manner." There is no way that we can speak of the confederacy in a positive manner that will be accepted by the Florence City Council. Our mission still stays the same an we will still be placing a historical marker in Florence on private property nearby the Eternal Vigil monument that educates all on the history of Florence and acknowledges the harm against the Black community.
“We won’t stop until every shrine to white supremacy is removed, replaced, or recontextualized with the full truth.”– Project Say Something Supporter
I want to join the marker movement, sign me up!
