Graham Demonstrators Argue Over Monument, Sheriff In Tense Gathering

The city of Graham had its first major protest Saturday after a federal judge blocked a measure to ban such gatherings as two sides clashed over the fate of the city's Confederate monument.

Hundreds of marchers bringing a message of “Black Lives Matter” were greeted by a smaller group of Confederate-flag waving counter-protesters chanting “All lives matter.”

The path they took invoked the last journey of Wyatt Outlaw, a Black elected town official of Graham who was lynched in 1870 by members of the Ku Klux Klan on the courthouse square where the Confederate monument stands.

“We marched on history today,” said organizer Rev. Greg Drumwright.

Late in the demonstration, monument supporters started ringing a bell just as Drumwright was speaking. He wouldn't be silenced though, borrowing a phrase from Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” speech for a new chant of “Let Freedom Ring.”

Drumwright says the gathering was about more than statues.

“This was about an end to white supremacy. This was about an end to police brutality. This is about an end to over-policing of minorities,” he said. “There are some good people here in Alamance County, who obviously outnumbered the counterprotesters, who are here to march in love, in peace, in unity, but under this one chorus: that enough is enough, it's a new day and black lives matter.”

The two sides also clashed over Alamance Sheriff Terry Johnson, a vocal supporter of the Confederate monument. Supporters chanted his name to show their approval of the long-time sheriff, while marchers said it's time for him to go.

Johnson and Drumwright spoke briefly after the protest. Drumwright said they discussed the fact that officers detained his godson while he was working at the square before the marchers arrived. He said Johnson told him he'd look into the matter.

The two men shook hands before parting.

Police cordoned off a restricted area around the courthouse square that includes the monument. Both sides exchanged strong words but did not physically confront each other. Confederate statues have been coming down in recent weeks as municipalities reconsider their place in a post-Jim Crow society. 

Marchers want Graham's statue removed, while supporters say they don't want people from outside of Alamance County telling them what to do.