Danville City Council on Thursday night instructed City Attorney Clarke Whitfield to conduct further legal research pertaining to a request by the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History that the city remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the museum.
Whitfield will report his findings at a closed meeting that will be held following City Council’s next work session on Tuesday, Oct. 21. State law allows local governments to hold closed meetings for legal consultation.
Following the closed meeting, City Council will reconvene in open session and then discuss how to proceed.
The museum’s board of directors voted on Sept. 25 to ask the city to remove the Confederate flag from the museum grounds. In 1994, City Council gave permission to the Heritage Preservation Association to place a monument with the third National Confederate flag on the front lawn of the Sutherlin Mansion, which the museum leases. The city owns the mansion and the grounds.
The city was informed of the museum’s request by a letter received on Sept. 30. Several citizens, including members of local Confederate heritage organizations, addressed the issue during Danville City Council’s business session Thursday night.