Dickens won't sign proclamation

Staff

Published Saturday, March 29, 2003

Suffolk News-Herald

Mayor E. Dana Dickens III on Friday refused to sign a city proclamation recognizing April as Confederate Heritage and History Month.

Representatives of the Tom Smith Camp #1702 of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans asked Dickens to sign the proclamation honoring the 1,500 Confederate soldiers from Suffolk and Nansemond County who fought in the Civil War.

Former Mayor Curtis Milteer signed a similar proclamation last year, making Suffolk one of a handful of cities statewide to pay homage to its Confederate history. Milteers's action put Suffolk in the national media spotlight, captured the attention of NAACP leaders across the country and drew dozens of residents out to City Council meetings.

Dickens said signing the proclamation would the hurt the city.

"After careful consideration, I decided it would be very divisive in the city," he said. "...I think there is evidence of that divisiveness in last year's situation. We don't want to see that repeated.

"...We are trying to build bridges, not tear them down, and to give people a reason to want to come to Suffolk."

He said he believes Suffolk's SCV members will still be able to celebrate their Southern roots - with or without any proclamation.

"SCV members obviously have strong feeling about their ancestors and heritage and I support that," Dickens said. "I applaud and support them in that effort."

Fred D. Taylor, commander of the Tom Smith Camp, called Dickens a "hypocrite", and alleged that his refusal to sign the proclamation was politically driven.

"I believe that he made his decision for political reasons ...and that he is bowing down to political connections," Taylor said. "By doing so, he is dishonoring Suffolk."

"It also allows the premise to be made that if you want to celebrate your Southern heritage, you should be treated as a second-class citizen," Taylor said. It is designed "to make people feel that what happened between 1861 and 1865 was something to be ashamed of.

Charles Christian, president of the NAACP, declined to comment.

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