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GATESVILLE – A plan in the works for nearly two years will finally see its completion this weekend.

The “United We Stand” monument will be unveiled and dedicated at a 10 a.m. program on Saturday, May 21. The program, which will feature Rev. Dr. Linwood Boone as the guest speaker, will be held inside the Historic Courthouse, located at 115 Court Street in Gatesville. After the program, attendees will cross Court Street for the unveiling.

Since August of 2020, the Gates County Board of Commissioners has discussed options regarding the future of the Confederate Monument in downtown Gatesville. Those discussions eventually led to the appointment of a diverse committee of citizens who volunteered to work together to recommend a solution toward resolving the issue of what to do with the Confederate Monument. That committee recommended to leave the Confederate Monument intact and add a unity monument that reflects today’s society.

During the board meeting, the committee stated, “We, the committee, have declared that the monument be named United We Stand. As Gates County citizens, we believe that our [new] monument should declare this fact for all those who enter Gates County’s boundaries.”

The commissioners approved that recommendation and agreed to have it placed in close proximity to the Confederate Monument for historical context.

After much delay because of COVID-19, supply chain and labor force issues, the unity monument is complete, and the unveiling has been scheduled.

Dr. Boone, a native of Gates, received his Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, his Master of Divinity from the Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University in Richmond, and the degree of Doctor of Ministry from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

He formally served as pastor at Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church, Elizabeth City, and Mount Zion American Baptist Church, Staunton, VA., and is currently the pastor of Corinth Chapel United Church of Christ, Suffolk, VA. He resides in Virginia with his wife, Amanda B. Boone.

Dr. Boone is the historian for the Roanoke Missionary Baptist Association. In this position, he is responsible for archiving, maintaining, and researching the history of the Association and its school, Roanoke Theological Institute, and the Women Missionary and Education Union histories.

Dr. Boone is a published author. Among his publications are two books relative to Gates County: The Chronological History of Negro Education in Gates County North Carolina and Its 1-2-3 Room Schoolhouses released May 2019, and The Chronological History of Negro Education in Gates County, North Carolina and Its 1-2-3 Rooms Schoolhouses, 2020.

Dr. Boone has a magnitude of experience in social services from both Pennsylvania and Virginia. He is a private contractor and clinical family coordinator at Virginia Support Services Inc. in Manessa, VA.

Dr. Boone attributes his success in life to his wife of 33 years, and to his late mother, Mary L. Morings-Boone.