Juneteenth 2021: A time for celebration amid activism in Alabama town splcenter.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from splcenter.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
As an activist,
Camille Bennett has experienced everything from death threats, violent online messages, and intimidation attempts after starting her campaign to remove a Confederate statue in her hometown of Florence, Alabama.
A white pastor suggested that someone wire her mouth shut and a white motorist sped towards her while participating in a racial justice march and yelled, “Get the f–out the way,” according to
The 43-year-old recalled being the only Black speaker during an LGBTQ Pride event in 2017. While there, she was taunted and heckled by five Ku Klux Klansmen (KKK) in hoods and robes.
“I was terrified. I was extremely intimidated,” Bennett said. “The work brings me an immense sense of joy. I don’t let the threats define me.”
Ever since Camille Bennett began her campaign to relocate a Confederate statue in her hometown of Florence, Alabama, she has seen it all: threats, violent online messages and intimidation attempts. “There's one that stands out in my mind. A minister, a local minister said that if I keep running my mouth, it will need to be wired shut and I'll be drinking through a straw. So, you know, really, really a physical threat.” But her most harrowing experience, she says, occurred in 2017, when five Ku Klux Klansmen in hoods and robes heckled her at an event. “I was terrified, I wanted to leave…” But for those like Bennett committed to removing Confederate symbols, intimidation, as frightening as it can be, isn't the only obstacle - and sometimes isn’t even the most powerful. While many high-profile statues have come down, many others are still standing thanks to the political maneuverings of those who want the symbols to remain, and have
Ever since Camille Bennett started her campaign to relocate a Confederate statue from outside the county courthouse in her hometown of Florence, Alabama, she…