A statue rising between columns of the Sampson County Courthouse finds itself at the heart of controversy, as well it should. It simply doesn’t belong where it stands.

The nameless Confederate soldier, with rifle in hand, stands on a pedestal, in honor of the Sampson County soldiers who fought for a cause the monument’s inscription described “though lost, still just.” Confederate battle flags are etched onto both sides of the base.

The inscription is succinct enough, perpetuating the “Lost Cause” ideology painted by Confederacy apologists as one of heroism and Northern Aggression. During the Civil War, southern states seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America. While they fought for many reasons — states’ rights, westward expansion — the enslavement of Black people was chief among them. The Confederacy sought to keep Blacks in shackles.

Statues like the one unveiled in Sampson in May 1916 popped up all over the South decades after the war was lost — the one in Clinton went up 51 years after the Civil War was over — a way of glorifying the cause and honoring a generation that was dying out. They were installed in the Jim Crow era, when laws enforced racial segregation that classified Black people as second-class citizens.

We have come a long way since that statue went up 104 years ago, and it indeed serves as a reminder of where we have been. That doesn’t mean it should stand at the courthouse, nor that it should be seen as a integral relic that can teach us a valuable history lesson. The monument has no name on it. It simply champions the cause of the Confederacy, whose ideals should not be intertwined with today’s American fabric, least of which its justice system.

The statue is meant to glorify, and keeping it in a prominent public place only picks at old wounds and, whether intended or not, delivers a message that some of our diverse populous should know their place. The war was lost, but the cause was just, as the monument will tell you.

The Confederate soldier should be relocated to a place where proper historical context can be provided, such as the Sampson County History Museum, one idea that has been tossed around.

It is ultimately the Sampson County Board of Commissioners’ call, and no commissioner has yet to even mention the issue publicly despite two board meetings held just this week. The first of those was on Monday when Clinton City Councilman Darue Bryant held a protest at the statue when the issue was not placed on the county’s agenda.

A day later, the Clinton City Council unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the county to “explore options” for the removal and relocation of the statue. County board members should have addressed this by now, even if only to say it is under consideration. Saying nothing when an online petition for its removal has thousands of signatures and local protests abound is akin to watching a pot boil over.

Clinton has been the site of recent protests over racism, police brutality and the Confederate statue. None of them have resorted to any violence or destruction. People have sought to make their voices heard. County leaders need to show they are listening. They don’t need to wait another month to speak on this matter.

It is a prickly subject, especially with many who hold tight to bygone days, but this isn’t about pandering or kowtowing to “a mob” — it’s about doing what is right.

“Remember, this is not a black versus white issue,” Bryant said. “This is a black versus racism issue. That’s what it’s about.”

In 2017, the Sampson County Branch of the NAACP made an attempt to remove the monument by sending letters to local leaders. Branch president Lee Byam said at the time: “The Confederate statue is a reminder of America’s dark legacy of slavery that deprived human beings of their God-given and constitutionally protected human rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Two years after that request for discourse fell on deaf ears, NAACP member Larry Sutton said in 2019 that it was “way past time for a public review and discussion by our county and city officials concerning the relocation of the Confederate statue in downtown Clinton.”

”It is only fair that we hear from the people who represent us at both the city and county level,” said Sutton. “This should be our moment of truth in facing our history and in lifting the burdens of our racial past and present off the shoulders of the younger generation.”

Now, yet another year later, we resoundingly echo that. We’ve heard from our city leaders on this. It’s time we hear from the county.