The Civil War was a major event in U.S. history that cost the lives of thousands of citizens and left the landscape in ruins. After the South lost the war, a movement during the Jim Crow era memorialized and honored veterans who sacrificed their lives for the right to secede from the Union while defending slavery. Those past honors do not represent the values held today in Gates County, where citizens value unity, racial equality, inclusion, and acceptance, respect and love one another despite cultural, religious, and political differences, and seek to serve as positive role models for the next generation. Removing the Confederate monument will not end racism, but it can stand as a reminder of who the community is and is not, and that hatred has no place in Gates County.