Three Georgetown council members back museum donation

After a contentious Sept. 26 meeting, Georgetown Town Council voted 3-2 to award a $24,750 grant to the Georgetown Historical Society for work at the Nutter Marvel Carriage Museum.

When first proposed, the donation ignited a firestorm of protests by groups and individuals opposed to a Confederate flag and memorial on the museum grounds. Several groups, including the NAACP, Delaware Hispanic Commission and Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice, have asked the council to rescind the donation, and asked the historical society to remove the flag and place it in an indoor exhibit.

The flag and memorial were unveiled March 12, 2007, by the Delaware Grays, Sons of the Confederate Veterans Camp 2068 based in Seaford.

The Sept. 26 vote took place because of a Freedom of Information Act violation determined by Delaware Attorney General Kathleen Jennings. The action complied with the attorney general's order to either revote to ratify the donation or request the funds be returned to the town.

Ward 2 Councilwoman Sue Barlow made the motion to reinstate the donation with a second by Ward 3 Councilwoman Angela Townsend and a positive vote by Ward 4 Councilman Penuel Barrett. Mayor Bill West and Ward 4 Councilwoman Christina Diaz-Malone voted against the motion.

The mayor asked Barlow, who is a life member of the historical society, if she was making the motion because of her association with the society.

“I became a life member in 1998 by paying $100. I have not been involved since 2004. I’m not an active member,” she said.

“I guess we’ll see everyone in court,” the mayor said, referring to a possible lawsuit filed by the state against the council.

Diaz-Malone made an impassioned plea to her fellow council members to take a pause, form a committee and talk about the issue, which is something she thought was going to happen.

“We have lost our grace, lost our decorum and lost our decency,” she said. “I’m appalled we have become a renegade council. The rules are not being followed.”

She said there are many residents who do not support the donation or the Confederate monument.

Town Manager Gene Dvornick read a stack of letters and emails into the record from both sides of the issue. Several Georgetown residents wrote that the flag is part of the nation’s history and should not be removed; others wrote that the flag is a symbol of violence and white supremacy, and should not be celebrated.

FOIA violation

A check had been issued by three council members to the society, which was voided by West. “I had every right to do this. I’m the mayor of this town,” he said.

The action by the three council members was deemed inappropriate following a complaint filed to the state Attorney General’s Office that the action violated FOIA. Jennings ruled that remediation must be taken to either ratify the action with another vote or reverse the action and recoup the funds from the historical society.

She said the three council members – Townsend, Barrett and Barlow – issued and signed a check to the society without complying with open meeting requirements.

Townsend said the attorney general’s opinion was in error. “There was not a private meeting. There was not a quorum. All we did was execute a check already approved at a meeting,” she said. That meeting took place July 25.

Townsend said residents in her ward support the donation, and the Confederate monument and flag. “People consider it has history and it’s not our place to erase history,” she said. “I have to do what people are asking me to do. I’m not a white supremacist and not a racist.”

NAACP: Start a boycott

Prior to the vote, Central Delaware NAACP President Fleur McKendell said the organization would continue to speak out against the donation and the Confederate flag flying at the museum. She presented a slideshow on the history of slavery and its connection to the Confederacy.

She said her organization would do everything in its power to support a boycott of Georgetown. “We will make sure no one comes to Georgetown to build, buy a house or land, or raise a family,” she said. “We have made it very clear that we will continue to double down, be in your face and boycott Georgetown until this town council does the right thing by its constituents.”

McKendell said council should rescind the donation and not make any other contributions to an organization that waves the Confederate flag. “You must not condone what that flag represents,” she said. “We are here to stay to change this policy. My colleagues will not hold back. We have a movement here to get this changed in Georgetown.”

Comments after vote

Following the vote, several NAACP members chastised the three council members who voted for the donation, telling them there would be repercussions.

“This shows what kind of people you really are,” McKendell said. “I hope this donation is worth it. We have to remove you from office, and we will.”

Joe Lawson of the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice said his organization is very disappointed with the vote. “We are proud of Mayor West and Councilwoman Diaz-Malone because they represent what America can be and should be. For the other three, shame on you. You keep America from being all it can be,” he said.

He said the issue has gone so far that the Marvel family wants their name removed from the museum as long as the Confederate flag flies there. “The historical society has highjacked the museum. It's astounding how far you've gone to take public funds and allocate them to this museum. It's an abomination to most residents who feel the flag is a symbol of hate and violence. We will work with other organizations to get this reversed.”

“It looks like you took your hoods off,” said NAACP member Colby Owens. He said there is no doubt the flag is a symbol of hatred and white supremacy. “My ancestors were beaten with this flag hanging over them,” he said.

Editor’s note: The Delaware Grays Camp 2068 submitted a statement to be read into the record at a recent Georgetown Town Council meeting. The Delaware Grays subsequently submitted a copy of the statement to the Cape Gazette. The full unedited text is included as a PDF accompanying this article, accessible by clicking “Grays statement” in the Attachments section of this post.