Oral arguments in NC Supreme Court Vance Monument case scheduled for Nov. 1
ASHEVILLE - The N.C. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Nov. 1 in the case challenging the removal of a downtown Asheville monument honoring a Confederate-era governor. The arguments come nearly a year after the state's highest court took up the case.
The lawsuit surrounds the 75-foot-tall granite Vance Monument, which stood in Pack Square Plaza since 1898, all but its base taken down as of June 2021 after Asheville City Council voted 6-1 to remove it in March of that year.
The Society for the Historical Preservation of the 26th North Carolina Troops is seeking to stop the removal and potentially reconstruct Vance Monument. The society filed the initial lawsuit against the city of Asheville in March 2021.
In a Dec. 16 order, the Supreme Court blocked an April 2022 judgment from the N.C. Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of the city and allowed removal of the monument, and agreed to review the case.
"I'm ready for it. It's time," said Deborah Miles of the upcoming Supreme Court hearing.
She was co-chair of the Vance Monument taskforce, which voted 11-1 to recommend removal of Vance Monument in November 2020. It's been three years since that decision and she was ready to see it finished, with the hope the Supreme Court will uphold the decisions of both the Buncombe County Superior Court and the N.C. Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of the city.
"It puts us in line with other cities across the South and across the nation that are taking these steps toward recognizing what these monuments stand for and coming up with a way to see the future differently.”
Senior Assistant City Attorney Eric Edgerton said no ruling will be made on Nov. 1 as decisions from the Supreme Court come in the form of written opinions, which can take anywhere from one month to a year to issue. Generally, he said, the issuance of a decision takes about six months.
Miles and Vance Monument Taskforce co-chair Oralene Simmons are organizing a media briefing in Raleigh following the Nov. 1 arguments and will be joined by Noel Nickle, a local Vance family descendant; Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer; and Jaelyn Miller, community lawyering fellow at Emancipate NC.
Statewide civil rights organizations Southern Coalition for Social Justice and the North Carolina Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Criminal Justice System are also supporting the effort.
"Communities across North Carolina have been actively seeking to remove Confederate monuments, and those with the power to remove them are watching this case closely," said a Oct. 27 news release from the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. "The monument is a symbol of white supremacy culture, and its removal is a vital step in Asheville's reparations process."
Vance opposed rights for Black people, and his family enslaved people prior to the Civil War. As a U.S. congressman, Vance wrote denigrating things about Black people, saying their blood contained "a putrid stream of African barbarism."
How to watch
Arguments will begin Nov. 1 at 9:30 a.m. on the third floor of the Justice Building in Raleigh. The case will be livestreamed on the Supreme Court's YouTube page: http://govu.us/scncoa.
After the oral arguments, a media briefing will be held in the North Carolina General Assembly Press Conference Room at 16 W. Jones St. in Raleigh.
“This is a deeply emotional issue for the whole community," Miles said. "This was an almost unanimous decision on both the part of the taskforce and the City Council. That should be honored.”
Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: When will the NC Supreme Court hear Vance Monument arguments?
