Alicia Abelson
WMAL.com
CLARENDON, VA — (WMAL) A plaque on Arlington’s World War I Memorial commemorating the death of Arlington’s World War I soldiers has sparked a controversy.
The memorial, located in Clarendon, lists 13 names from the Army and Navy branches that fought and died during the first World War. 11 of these soldiers were white, and two were of color.
On the plaque, the names of the white soldiers appear first, followed by two spaces and the names of the two black soldiers Arthur Morgan and Ralph Lowe
Before their branch of service, the two soldiers are recognized as “colored”. The community and surrounding organizations have voiced their concern over the plaque and are calling for change.
Karen Nightengale, president of the Arlington branch of the NAACP said “the NAACP would certainly like to see a plaque that is representative of all people of that particular era not separated by color.”
Actually changing the plaque may prove to be an issue. Current Virginia law states that no one can “disturb or interefere with” completed memorials.
“We have to be aware, there are some standards that may prevent that from happening because we’re not sure if you can actually remove a plaque once those memorials are up” said Nightengale.
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