On Monday, July 25 at 7pm, the Georgetown (Delaware) Town Council will consider a request from the Georgetown Historical Society for public funding. The public meeting will be held at 39 The Circle, Georgetown, DE 19947 and livestreamed at https://www.georgetowndel.com/live-stream.htm. People may participate remotely via zoom.us/join with Zoom meeting ID: 890 9074 7994. 

In 2007, the Society hosted the installation of a monument “recognizing the sacrifices of Delawareans who supported the Cause of independence and the efforts of the Confederate States of America.” A Confederate flag flies next to the monument.

The Delaware General Assembly stopped funding the Society in 2019 because of its refusal to remove the flag and monument.

Common Cause Delaware today sent a letter to the Georgetown Town Council, urging them to reject the request for public funds. Read the full letter here.

Statement from Common Cause Delaware Executive Director Claire Snyder-Hall

Elected officials’ priorities are always reflected in their spending choices. 

Monday night, Georgetown Town Councilors will choose whether or not to use almost $25,000 of taxpayer money to subsidize a private organization that hosts a Confederate monument and proudly flies the Confederate flag.

The Confederate flag represents the cause of those who took up arms to defend the institution of slavery that dehumanized Black people, declared them essentially inferior, and treated them with ghastly cruelty. 

In 2022, almost 160 years after the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in this country, it is shocking and unacceptable that the Georgetown Historical Society continues to fly the Confederate flag and openly mourns the lives of those who died fighting against the United States. 

Common Cause Delaware strongly opposes racism. We hope that the Society’s request for a taxpayer subsidy will be swiftly denied.