Arlene Barnum describes herself as a Southern nationalist on her Facebook page. (Arlene Barnum)
A Black woman is so committed to a Jefferson Davis monument remaining in New Orleans that she drove from northern Louisiana to defend it.
Arlene Barnum had been visiting from Oklahoma when she learned about the removal of the Liberty Place monument Monday, April 24, WGNO reported. She stood in front of the monument clad in a Confederate flag T-shirt and waving a Confederate flag.
Barnum, whose Facebook page prominently showcases Confederate paraphernalia and her support for President Donald Trump, said she plans on standing in front of the statue “until the sun comes up to make sure Jefferson Davis lives to see another day.”
“I felt I needed to be at the [monument] for Jefferson Davis because he was the one and only president of the Confederate States of America,” Barnum told the local ABC affiliate. “He’s the most significant of all the monuments to be taken down.”
LOUISIANA SCV STATE DIVISION calls upon you to stand guard in New Orleans for the Confederate monuments that the city…
Posted by Arlene Barnum on Thursday, April 27, 2017
“It’s about being on the right side of history,” she added, noting her stance had nothing to do with her Blackness.
While the removal of the Liberty Place monument was documented, city officials have not provided details on when the statues of Davis and Confederate generals P.G.T. Beauregard and Robert E. Lee would be removed due to safety concerns.
Barnum returned to the Davis monument Friday, April 28, with other Confederate supporters and documented her presence on Facebook Live.
