Law Prevents South Carolina Mayor Welborn Adams From Changing Memorial That Segregates Fallen Soldiers by 'Colored,' 'White'

The efforts of a South Carolina mayor trying to alter a war memorial, which separates fallen soldiers into "white" and "colored" veterans, have been stifled by a state law that prohibits changes to historical markers without legislative approval.

The Associated Press reported plaques on two sides of the American Legion-owned monument in Greenwood list soldiers who died in World War I and World War II (the list of fallen soldiers from the Korean and Vietnam War dead named on its third side are not separated by race).

Mayor Welborn Adams said the monument, which sits on city ground, is a grim reminder of the segregationist South and should be changed in the spirit of equality. He has contributed $1,000 -- and raised more than $14,000 -- to pay for the alterations.

Before Adams could dedicate the new plaques on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, however, his efforts were reined in by a law that forbids altering historical monuments. Opponents threatened to have the mayor arrested on a misconduct in office charge if he went ahead with the inauguration.

The legislation curtailing the changes arose from a compromise that saw the Confederate flag removed from the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia but assured residents Confederate memorials would not be torn down next; such moves now require a two-thirds vote from lawmakers.

The South Carolina Legislature is considering a bill that would allow changes to the Greenwood memorial, and about half of state senators have signed on as sponsors, the Raw Story noted.

The mayor's hopes may have been complicated by an interview he gave in a local newspaper.

"I think if history offends people, it needs to be rewritten, if possible," Adams said.

He has since admitted his choice of words was unfortunate.

Historians, both black and white, have also voiced reservations about changing the memorial. Many of them argue the plaques serve as a reminder of the once-segregated U.S. military.

"Segregation was the accepted social order of that time," said Eric Williams, who spent 32 years as a historian with the U.S. Park Service. "If we alter the monument, we alter its historical integrity."