Email chain forwarded by Melissa Johnson on July 6, 2020

Editor's note: What follows is an email chain forwarded to Judge-Executive Kenny Imes and Deputy Judge-Executive Gina Winchester on July 6, 2020, by Melissa Johnson. The initial email in the chain is from Johnson to then Murray State University Football Coach Dean Hood on June 23, 2020, requesting that he forward it to his assistant coach, Sherman Neal.

Good day Mr. Hood, I am respectfully asking you to forward this letter To Mr. Neal since he is not listed as a member of your staff on the website. Thank you

Mr. Neal

Thank you for your service, it is an honor and a privilege to have that protection.

In regards to the statue, I am not really writing to you directly about it, it is simply an inanimate object, and the fact it gets so much attention is incredibly strange. Normally I would not even voice an opinion but after reading an interview with you that shared some of the words from your letter I felt compelled to do so.

I was blessed to be born and raised in this fine community. I want to share with you first a story told by my grandmother.

Her grandfathers both served in the civil war, one confederate, one union. One of the men received notice that he had a grandchild on the way, he sent word to the other gentleman, they met across a fence, both with guns in hand, one gentlemen said to the other, well, we have our first grandchild on the way, I guess its best we stop this fighting and go home to our families. I find it to be a wonderful story of love. They were not wealthy men that had a stake in the fight for slavery, just poor farmers trying to protect their families, farms and land.

My grandparents were the most loving, giving christian people I have ever had the honor of knowing, my grandmother was a member of the UDC, not because she hated anyone, because she certainly did not!! But because she loved her grandfather, she loved her community, its history and loved genealogy. She spent hours upon hours working on documents, searching things tied to the families in our community and preserving that history. Her and my grandfather were well respected, they went above and beyond to do for others, our christmas dinners were filled with not only extended family but neighbors who didnt have families, friends, anyone who wished to gather. And yes at times POC. I had an uncle that was a missionary that would play his guitar and teach us christmas songs in other languages. It was beautiful and wonderful, we were rich beyond measure not because of gifts but because of the love and giving nature we experienced. So when you deem the UDC ladies animals that would associate with KKK it is heart breaking and horrific. I can not imagine saying anything mean or ugly to another person especially based on their race or heritage.

My community is loving and beautiful, its all around you but first you have to open your eyes and see it, OPEN THEM WIDE!!! I cant even imagine coming to this beautiful, loving, gracious community and seeing nothing but a statue. I understand your life experiences have been different than me, for that I am sorry that this can instill so much anger. But I can promise you if you will be open to it, this community will give the love each person deserves.

I send an open invitation to you and your family to attend church with my family anytime, Antioch Church of Christ, 1261 Antioch Church Road, Farmington Ky 42040, My husband is a Farmington native, and we love our small church family.

Have a blessed day,

Melissa

***

Good afternoon. Thank you for sharing your story with me.

The United States chose not include a right to slavery or language subjecting group of people to involuntary servitude when they drafted the US Constitution in 1787. While the 3/5 clause was dubious and made claims of "liberty for all illegimtate [sic]" (I acknowledge women and other minorites were treated as 2nd class citizens or worse as well) -- the drafters clearly constructed that document to allow for the legal elimination of slavery at a later date.

Unlike the United States of America, the confederacy chose to resort to violence, rather than available legal remedies, to launch an insurgency. Maintaining the right to enslave persons was the central tenet of the confederate clause. Article IV, Section 3, of the the confederate constitution ratified on March 11, 1861 states:

(3) The Confederate States may acquire new territory; and Congress shall have power to legislate and provide governments for the inhabitants of all territory belonging to the Confederate States, lying without the limits of the several States; and may permit them, at such times, and in such manner as it may by law provide, to form States to be admitted into the Confederacy. In all such territory the institution of negro slavery, as it now exists in the Confederate States, shall be recognized and protected be Congress and by the Territorial government; and the inhabitants of the several Confederate States and Territories shall have the right to take to such Territory any slaves lawfully held by them in any of the States or Territories of the Confederate States.

See: httns://avalon.law.vale.edu/19th century/csa csa.asp

As you can see, one of your grandfathers fought to for a nation who chose not to specifically protect the right to own negro slaves in it's foundational document, while another one fought for a non-state actor whom chose to launch a violent insurrection with the specific intent of protecting and expanding slavery. The state of Kentucky chose to remain in the Union. The Purchase area did have many confederate sympathizers, however they chose not to secede from the state in order to join the confederacy when they held the Mayfield Convention on the matter in May 1861. This means that one of your grandfathers willingly chose to commit treason against the United States and was willing to potentially kill his own family member (whom he met at the fence).

While I cannot verify the character of your grandmother, I can say with certainty that she joined an organization whose auxiliary purpose was promoting the cause of the Ku Klux Klan. See the attached pictures of a children's book authored by the United Daughters of the Confederacy published with the intent of promoting the clan and subjecting black people to second-class citizen status.

I also attached a copy of the report I submitted to Judge Imes and members of the Calloway County Fiscal Court to provide some additional context to the single page letter I submitted on June 1.

I did, and still do, think very highly of this community and many of the leaders I have had a chance to meet over the past month. With limited exceptions, I have been treated very well and engaged in adult conversations (like this one). I am not angry. I am seeking to erase history. I am only asking that decision-makers acknowledge the context of what they support in the form of that inanimate object -- if we truly examine the merits of the cause, then I think we must remove it from public property immediately as many other cities have done.

Understanding that we have different experiences is a good beginning. As a country, we need to determine why my experience as an American differs from yours and what perpetuates division. In my opinion, reverence of a person/cause dedicated to enslavement of my ancestors is a significant part of the problem.

Let me know if you have any questions, suggestions, or additional comments. Happy Independence Day.

Respectfully,

(Sherman Neal)

***

Thank you for your reply, Yes I understand the history, but after reading some of your publications I needed to tell you my history, and about MY community. I did not say slavery was ok, it was horrific, what I said is that my family has been here for many, many generations and I have first hand knowledge of their behavior and love for another. And also as I said before these men were poor farmers fighting for their homes, families, and land. You or I neither one can say what we might do if our family was in harms way, and our ability to feed them was under attack. Because in fact I do know they were not slave owners. I am really over the statue it is the full on war against our community and integrity that is now at stake. Your examples are not Calloway County, Kentucky publications, and I realize that in the late 1800s, early 1900s I am sure they were bad people connected with the UDC, but the beautiful women connected to the one in Calloway County in recent years are in now way connected to any ridiculous organization as the KKK. Again, they enjoy exploring history, preserving artifacts and spending time with one another. I am thankful my grandmother is not alive, I told her at one time the very name of their organization could bring harm to them and they needed to be cautious. You will not now or ever convince me that we are bad people. I know there are always mean and bad in every community but I also know here they are few and far between.

I am in shock that you were able to convince the Murray city council that they live in an evil place, as portrayed in your publications. Intrigued by the concern for pick-up trucks on the street I performed my own experiment, This past Saturday morning I left my house ar 6:30 am, drove to lynn Grove to do some wildlife photography, I arrived back home around 8:45, I saw 27 pick-up trucks, 2 cars, 2 jeeps, and 3 SUVs. I am suspect of them following you while you run. As far as people following you in the stores, who knows, but I doubt it. As far as Murray police dept. not being respectful, the whole community saw them swiftly apprehend the Paducah man, and the Murray man during the riot, all while F*A# 12 was being chanted. To take this a step further, the man welding the pepper spray was a friend of my husband and I, he is very intelligent, has published books, BUT a few years ago he began to struggle with mental illness, in fact he lost his daughter who he did have sole custody of until that time. He alienated all his friends, and his bizarre behaviour continued to escalate, and now my husband is heart broken and wishes he had pushed him to get help. Much like the school shootings and other horrific events manifested by the mentally ill. If you want a social issue to reform that is it!! The mental health system is far too broken.

Onto, anyone being afraid of being killed in this community

I can remember off the top of my head 3 murders in this community in my life time. Only one was african-american [sic], his name was Chico, he was a well-known drug dealer, I do not know that his murder was ever resolved. And only a couple of years later his sister was killed in a horrific car accident, so much misery for one family!

At first, I felt so bad for you, but at the same time was broken hearted at what seemed to be your feeling about my community, then after the last publication I read I am coming to realize this is more about you being published, and gaining notoriety for yourself, not reform for Murray-Calloway county.

Below, I attached a picture of our real community, the love, the lives that we celebrate, not hate, not ugliness. This is my granddaughter and my niece.

You have a good day, sir and I pray you find peace.

Melissa

The foregoing is part of a collection of correspondence to various Calloway County government officials as well as remarks made before the Calloway County Fiscal Court in 2020, which the Sentinel obtained from County Judge-Executive Kenny Imes' office.