In the midst of protests over Confederate monuments, the Fort Mill Police Department got a larceny complaint about a missing street sign on Confederate Street.
A resident on the street told police that he noticed the street sign for Monroe White and Confederate Street was missing. Here is what he told police:
“On Friday, he noticed 3 teenagers (one black male and two white females) messing with the Forest and Confederate Street sign but advised them to stop,” a police report says. “They did so without incident.”
That street sign was never taken. But the 63-year-old resident said he noticed the sign at Confederate Street and Monroe White was missing later. (Story continues below)
“There is a home under construction at the intersection,” a police report says. “It is unknown if the sign was stolen, damaged or removed by the Town of Fort Mill while the heavy construction is done. Case remains active.”
The missing street sign just happens to be a block or so away from police headquarters, located at 112 Confederate Street.
The man’s report comes a few weeks after a few dozen protesters held a sit-in at Confederate Park in downtown Fort Mill. Their ultimate goal: changing the names of parks or monuments dedicated to Civil Rights or the Confederacy.
Someone also posted a 24-page manifesto with several demands. Among them was getting the Town of Fort Mill to issue a report identifying every government-sponsored symbol of and monument to white supremacy within town limits and address the potential renaming and/or relabeling with additional historical context each of these symbols.
The Town responded with this statement, which says in part:
“Unfortunately, as a municipality in the State of South Carolina we are held to the law described as the Heritage Act. Without a two-thirds vote in the Legislature, we cannot alter, change nor remove the name nor statues in the park.
“The Town will continue to listen, review and evaluate all legal options to ensure the health and safety of our Town and to preserve the sense of community that sets us apart.”