In 1908, a Confederate monument was erected at the DeKalb County Courthouse to glorify the "lost cause" of the Confederacy and the soldiers who fought for it. It was privately funded by the C. A. Evans Camp of Confederate Veterans and the Agnes Lee Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Placed in a prominent public space, it bolstered white supremacy and faulty history by suggesting that the Civil War was rooted in southern honor and states' rights rather than African-American slavery. This monument and others like it were also created to intimidate African-Americans and limit their full participation in the social and political life of their communities. It fostered a culture of segregation by implying that public spaces and public memory belonged to whites. Because state law prohibited local governments from removing Confederate statues, DeKalb County contextualized the monument in 2019. County officials and citizens held that public history could serve the community by challenging people to broaden their sense of boundaries and by including discussions of the victories and shortcomings of their shared histories.