A judge has ruled a city in South Carolina can change the listing of names of soldiers killed in World War I on a private monument so they are no longer listed as “colored” or “white.”
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A judge has ruled a city in South Carolina can change the listing of names of soldiers killed in World War I on a private monument so they are no longer listed as “colored” or “white.”
But Circuit Judge Frank Addy’s ruling Friday avoided a decision on whether South Carolina’s Heritage Act is constitutional. The law prevents changes on public monuments honoring the Confederacy and other historical events and figures without a two-thirds vote of the Legislature.
Addy decided since the American Legion was a private organization, it could change the monument that stands on public land in downtown Greenwood. His ruling indicated public monuments on public land are different.
Addy wrote he made his decision with full respect for the laudable objectives of the Heritage Act.
