Monticello/Jefferson County Courthouse Confederacy (#0584)

Monument to the Confederacy, on the north side of the courthouse, next to the American flag; on the left side of the picture is the Sesquicentennial plaque honoring the Confederacy that is described in the previous picture. Note that Jefferson County is 35% Black or African-American.

This photo is a close cropping of much larger picture. I was, admittedly, concerned about harassment while traveling around rural Florida taking photos of Confederate monuments. Since the streets were usually devoid of pedestrians, I felt like I probably stood out as a photographer. I hoped that if I was confronted I might could slip into my original Southern accent and talk my way out of it, but I was more concerned about the chance of shouted epithets or thrown objects from those passing pickup trucks with rebel flags – particularly if they saw my rental car with New York plates. Fortunately I managed to escape notice throughout the trip, possibly due to the fact that older people are often invisible to others!

Census: www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/jeffersoncountyflorida,fl/PST045217

(Part of a photo-essay series on personal history and race, with keyword FlaAla0518)