Goochland, Virginia: On March 13, 2018, at 11:00 a.m., the matter of CarMax v. Sibley will come on for a hearing before the Honorable Judge Sanner at the Goochland County Courthouse, 2938 River Rd West, Goochland, VA 23063. Among the issues Judge Sanner will address at that hearing is Montgomery Blair Sibley’s motion regarding the Constitutionality of the Confederate Statue on the grounds of the Courthouse.
The Confederate Statue was erected by The United Daughters of the Confederacy on June 22, 1918. The date of June 22 was not chosen randomly: It was the date that the last shot of the Civil War was fired. Hence, it is a “code” for the neo-Confederate movement which seeks to establish a revisionist history of what they call the War Between the States. According to this Lost Cause mythology: (i) the South went to war to defend states’ rights, (ii) slavery was essentially a benevolent institution that imparted Christianity to African “savages,” and (iii) while the Confederates were defeated, theirs was a just cause and those who fought were heroes. The neo-Confederate movement includes a number of organizations that generally share the goals of preserving Confederate monuments, honoring the Confederate battle flag, and lauding what is judged to be “Southern” culture. Many have close ties to the white supremacist League of the South. The Confederate Statue, engraved with the Stars and Bars, sits at the entrance to the Goochland County Courthouse.
The Confederacy is inextricably linked to a legacy of racism, exclusion, oppression, and violence in various ways. In his motion, Sibley argues that: “The message sent to the public by the Confederate Monument at the Goochland Courthouse (and Virginia’s celebration of the Confederate Memorial Day and Lee-Jackson Day holidays and designating April as Confederate History Month) from the Commonwealth of Virginia is clear: The justice administered in the Goochland Courthouse is not the justice of the United States Constitution and its post-war amendments that implemented the concept of equality under the law. Due to the history, social cognitive meaning, and influence of the Confederate Monument, I have been robbed of the privileges and immunities which owe their existence to the Federal government and thus I am being denied equal protection and due process of law.”