By Pam Bloom

At 65, I am guilty of years spent thinking “Fame” was an angel as I traveled to Salisbury from my rural home as a child.

Years later, I finally realized it was a commemorative work and accepted the simple explanation of grieving daughters. After all, it was a beautiful statue. I was a loving daughter. I could relate.

Years later on June 17, 2015, our nation experienced the tragedy of the Charleston, South Carolina church shootings. A new reality of genuine outrage spread across our nation. I had no problem seeing the Confederate battle flag come down from the South Carolina statehouse grounds. Anything that flag had once symbolized to me as a child had long been destroyed as it became appropriated and used to demonstrate hate by some.

That battle flag had nothing to do with my pride as a Southerner. I cheered the decision, except that the genuine outrage I applauded from my comfortable home spread to something I still found beautiful — “Fame.”

Soon, serious questions were being asked by people I respected. As discussions ensued, I even told my minister we might find ourselves on opposite sides of the debate on the statue’s place in our lovely city. After all, my minister and some of those folks I respected didn’t grow up in North Carolina. How could they understand?

I continued to read, I continued to research. I began attending Peace Circle and met folks that didn’t necessarily think like me. I like to think I practiced my listening skills. I certainly heard viewpoints different from mine. Slowly, I began to think about community viewpoints in addition to my own. It was a slow journey and still continues.

Almost four years later, “Fame” is still an issue. It should be. That statue is in our faces every time we drive by it on Innes Street. How does it make me feel today? I still see the beautiful craftsmanship although my enjoyment of it has diminished with knowledge of true historical context.

Could it stay and be joined by a statue of equal importance explaining the true story of what I once viewed as a deceptively simple tale of grieving daughters? Perhaps.

Some things need to be acknowledged by major action. Although often pretty, bandages can be a temporary fix that avoids addressing important issues.

The Salisbury Post recently reported that Mayor Heggins has opened this discussion to representatives of groups who have voiced public opinions about “Fame.” This small group also includes the United Daughters of the Confederacy, who erected Fame, as well as the Rowan Museum director and two city officials. It is a beginning.

I am hopeful for change. I now believe “Fame” needs a new home in Salisbury with a historically accurate interpretation befitting the grief that still ensues from that terrible time in our nation when human owned human’s.

Pam Bloom lives in Salisbury.