Earlier this week, a revised plaque was placed in front the Confederate Statue on the Ole Miss campus. This action caused the Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) to revive a lawsuit from 2014 that asks for an injunction to be placed on the action taken by the university to put the plaque in front of the statue. The SCV’s petition states that they do not believe the plaque accurately represents the history behind the statue and its significance. The suit, originally filed in 2014, was dismissed at the time. However, a petition for reinstatement was granted on August 1, 2014.
“The SCV requests that this Honorable Court use its broad powers of equity to … grant an injunction against the University of Mississippi, enjoining and preventing the University of Mississippi from disturbing or otherwise altering, desecrating, attacking, removing or placing any kind or plaque or placard which may in any way change, alter or disturb the significance and meaning of the Confederate Monument,” the petition states.
According to mississippitoday.org, the lawsuit points to Miss. Code Ann. § 55-15-81, a state law that declares no “monuments, memorials or nameplates (plaques)” honoring numerous wars, including the “War Between the States,” not be “relocated, removed, disturbed, altered, renamed or rededicated.”
University officials attempted to get the lawsuit dismissed once again, but Judge Robert Whitwell denied the request in May of 2016. The case was instead moved to circuit court.
HottyToddy.com reached out to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and The University of Mississippi’s Chief Legal Officer, Lee Tyner for a comment and is waiting on a response. We will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.
For previous content posted about the plaque revisions, click here.
Steven Gagliano is a writer for HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at steven.gagliano@hottytoddy.com.
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