SC woman pushes to remove statue of ancestor after learning about cousin with slave

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — A South Carolina woman is pushing to remove the Confederate statue of her ancestor after she learned she has a cousin from one of the family’s slaves.

Brittney Meriwether-Williamson is a descendant of Thomas Meriwether, the man whose statue stands in North August, South Carolina at the location of a race riot in the 1800s.

What she didn’t realize is that in the 1600s, another ancestor had a child with one of his slaves. When she found out, that is when they decided to meet face-to-face.

“We decided that we would like to unite our voices to try to get this monument taken down,” Meriwether-Williamson told our news partner WJBF. “Just a loving family. They took to me and I took to them. The kids, just came and sat right next to me and started talking.”

The two said they look forward to having a family reunion one day and using their story to foster more love.

Petition calls for removal of Confederate monument in downtown Lancaster Petition calls for removal of Confederate monument in downtown Lancaster

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