HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A peaceful march to a Confederate monument in Huntsville is how a group of people in Walker County celebrated Juneteenth.
The rally, organized by Reverend George Oliver of Huntsville, gathered in front of the Walker County Courthouse at the monument. The monument, erected in 1956, pays tribute to "Confederate patriots 1861-1865."
Authorities say a small group of people vandalized the monument a little over a week ago by spraying black paint on it, however, it had been cleaned up quickly. Police are still looking into the vandalism.
"I don't believe anyone should walk to this courthouse and feel ashamed," Rev. Oliver said. "No one should be reminded like I am when I come here that our ancestors bled and died in this county."
The group of local clergy and historians gathered to also host a press conference to encourage commissioners to address the removal of Confederate monuments from public properties.
The Walker County Commissioners Court is expected to take up the issue in its next meeting on June 22.
Oliver is the executive minister of Progressive Bible Ministries. "A grave injustice has been mocking the Black residents of this community for decades, without repentance," he stated in a press release. "We are glad the hour to correct this error has come, but for the lives that have been lost and many more lives that we're limited, we believe that officials must not stop at merely removing these memorials, but must replace them with apologies to the people of this community for having cosigned slavery and segregation to the detriment of its own citizens."
Rally leaders also discussed solutions to how the Black community and other communities of color are treated, including law enforcement interactions, governmental hiring practices and jobs programs.
Those who participated in the march and rally included United Methodist Churches, Walker-Trinity Counties NAACP, BLM Huntsville, American Baptist Churches USA clergy and others.
The Huntsville Item contributed to this report.