A North Carolina county on Tuesday ended its contract with a historic museum that was planning to host an event on Juneteenth which included a Civil War reenactment some deemed “racially insensitive.
Mecklenburg County is allowing its contract with the Latta Plantation Nature Reserve to expire next month over the controversial event, according to WBTV. County Commissioners sounded off about the performance Tuesday during a meeting and said they’ll be taking a closer look at any future agreements the county gets into.
Mecklenburg County Commission tonight cuts ties with Historic Latta Plantation INC after what many feel was a racially insensitive event. But there were more planned – full story tonight at 11pm. #cltnews pic.twitter.com/rpOFAThBWW
— Cam Man Ron Lee (@WBTVCamMan) June 16, 2021
The reenactment at Latta Plantation, dubbed “Kingdom Coming,” would have portrayed Confederate soldiers bemoaning the defeat of the Confederacy. A screen grab from the museum website showed people were invited to hear stories from a slave owner being pursued by Union troops following the emancipation of slaves in the south and subsequent end of the Civil War.
The performance was scheduled for June 19, or Juneteenth a day during which many commemorate the emancipation of slaves in the U.S.
The organizers of the “Kingdom Coming” had not promoted it as a Juneteenth event, according to WBTV. (RELATED: Senate Unanimously Passes Bill Making Juneteenth A Federal Holiday)
“We immediately reached out to the organizers and the event was cancelled,” officials in Mecklenburg County said on Twitter last Friday. The tweet noted the county has “zero tolerance” for any programs that do not support diversity and equity.
— Mecklenburg County (@MeckCounty) June 11, 2021
Democratic Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles also tweeted late Friday that residents “should not support any business or organization that does not respect equality, history, and the truth of the African-American people’s journey to freedom.”
W. Lee Jones, director of the Mecklenburg County’s Parks and Recreation, said the organizers of the reenactment had also planned to host other question programs, according to WBTV. Jones said the upcoming events included youth camps teaching young boys how to be Confederate soldiers and teaching young girls how to be southern belles.