North Texas black conservatives want Confederate monuments to stay

A group of North Texas black conservatives say they have a better answer than removing Confederate statues and memorials -- they want them to stay up and have added historical context.

“We should have Nat Turner, Sojourner Truth, show a statue of a slave that shows what he looks like after he's been beaten and show just a true side of history so we'll see a balance,” said Lee Patterson.

The group blames clashes like Charlottesvile on those who want the Confederate statues down.

“The battle we're fighting right now is actually a tool being used by those on the left,” Eugene Ralph said. “Unfortunately black people are being played again by something that’s not really in our interest.”

They say removing statues won’t remove racism.

“If it’s gonna help somebody go to work tomorrow or do something positive then I would say tear ‘em down today,” Ronald Spencer said. “But I think tomorrow we'll find something else to talk about.”

They know their position may be unpopular with African Americans, but they want people to think about whether removing the statues really changes anything.

“It’s not really being driven by the African American community,” said Pastor Stephen Broden said. “It’s one that’s being driven by the Antifa and that group, I believe, is a group that is set on dividing our nation.”