Statement from the NAACP Culpeper Branch on the Display of a Confederate Heritage Month Billboard

Statement from the NAACP Culpeper Branch on the Display of a Confederate Heritage Month Billboard
 
 
CULPEPER, VA — The NAACP Culpeper Branch unequivocally condemns the recent display of a billboard on a major highway in our community recognizing "Confederate Heritage Month." This public tribute to the Confederacy is not a positive or reverent reflection of history—it is an intentional glorification of a legacy rooted in the defense of slavery, white supremacy, and the violent subjugation of Black lives.  The Commonwealth of Virginia does not recognize or celebrate Confederate Heritage Month.
 
Let us be clear: the Confederacy was not a movement of honor, but a movement of treason and oppression. It was a rebellion against the fundamental ideals of liberty and justice for all, simple, indefensible and absolute. To promote its memory in our public spaces is to further the false narrative that oppression can be justified as culture and that injustice can be cloaked in the language of heritage.
 
History is not erased by confronting falsehood—it is redeemed by telling the truth.
 
We reject the notion that honoring the Confederacy is a matter of pride. Such displays deepen the wounds of our past and undermine the hard-fought progress toward truth, equity, and reconciliation in Culpeper. Our community cannot move forward while banners of division are raised above our heads.
 
To those responsible for this message, we say this: It is not too late to choose the path of truth. Heritage, if it is to serve us, must be grounded not in nostalgia for injustice, but in the moral courage to acknowledge harm, repair it, and ensure it is never repeated.
 
We call upon local officials, civic leaders, business owners, educators, and faith communities to speak out clearly and courageously. The public space belongs to all of us—and it must reflect the values of unity, equity, and shared dignity.
 
The NAACP Culpeper Branch remains steadfast in our commitment to truth-telling, to justice, and to building a community where every person—regardless of race or background—can live with dignity, security, and respect.