White contractors wouldn't remove Confederate statues. So a Black man did it.

[PunkinPi]

...He didn’t seek the job. He had never paid much attention to Civil War history. City and state officials said they turned to Team Henry Enterprises after a long list of bigger contractors — all White-owned — said they wanted no part of taking down Confederate statues.

For a Black man to step in carried enormous risk. Henry concealed the name of his company for a time and long shunned media interviews. He has endured death threats, seen employees walk away and been told by others in the industry that his future is ruined. He started wearing a bulletproof vest on job sites and got a permit to carry a concealed firearm for protection.

...Over and over, history-minded friends directed Henry to the words of John Mitchell Jr., the civil rights pioneer and editor of the Richmond Planet, a groundbreaking African American newspaper. In 1890, the year the state erected an enormous statue of Robert E. Lee on what would become Monument Avenue, Mitchell wrote about the resilience of the Black person in society.

“The Negro … put up the Lee monument,” Mitchell wrote, “and should the time come, will be there to take it down.”

Source: WaPo (more here, no paywall link) --> https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/01/02/devon-henry-confederate-statues-richmond

Very nice profile of Mr. Henry. He is a hero!

[EYESORE 9001]

1. Speaks volumes about prevailing attitudes

Contractors fear losing business due to offending racist customers. I understand the need to make nice with clients and customers, but spineless weenies never achieve change. Bow down before the ones you serve. Feh!