GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) - The words ‘Lest We Forget’ are embossed at the foot of a Confederate statue on the grounds of the Harrison County Courthouse. It's been there for decades, and some residents don't seem bothered by it.
"We shouldn't really worry about it because it's not become an issue. I mean it's been there for a while,” said Payton Bellew.
It was 1911 when the Daughters of the Confederacy erected the marker and dozens of others to preserve Confederate history. That's why Jereme Edwards says he's fine with it.
"It's a lot more meaning behind it than what I know. I can't worry about it. It's nothing I can change. So, I can't worry about it," said Edwards.
In recent months, New Orleans leaders have removed Confederate monuments, City of Memphis leaders have been working to remove Confederate markers, and this week in Durham, North Carolina protesters took the removal into their own hands.
Coast talk radio personality Rip Daniels has been vocal about Gulfport's Confederate monument and our state flag for many years. Daniels knows these aren't new concerns.
"The illusion that people haven't been calling for it is just that, an illusion. It really bothers me that unless good American citizens, unless they are confronted with some kind of protest or civil disobedience, they believe all is well," said Daniels.
That's why Daniels still believes the marker and the flag should come down simultaneously.
"Everybody in business has come out and said, look, this is not a good welcome mat. This whole Confederate thing is not selling," said Daniels.
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