ORANGE — Dozens of people took part in a protest Monday afternoon at the Confederate Memorial of the Wind in Orange County saying the monument is a slap in the face to Doctor Martin Luther King's legacy.
"How can you celebrate lynching and segregation since that's what the monument represents," says Linda Dixon, who has been living in Orange her entire life.
It was a silent protests alongside the Southeast Texas Progressives, and the only sound were of the motors and horns.
The protesters held signs reading various Martin Luther King quotes, and asking to re-purpose the Confederate monument.
"It's like we're going backwards instead of forwards," says Dixon.
"We take two or three steps forward and something always happens that makes us go back," Dixon explains.
She is one of the over a dozen protesters standing on the corner of Interstate 10 and Martin Luther King Drive in Orange.
"People might think it's no big deal, but thousands of people lost their lives fighting for equality," she says.
"All this for some people to come and put up a monument that represents hatred, seems like people don't get it," Dixon explains.
The Confederate Memorial Monument was built by the Sons of the Confederacy in 2013.
For some people it honors ancestors, for others, It's a reminder of a dark past.
A member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans tells us "they have the right to protest, so we have to right to have our own monument."
He decided to remain anonymous due to retaliation, but says "they are not seeking controversy, just like the protesters."
Tracie Parzen, who is also part of the SETX Progressives says they are asking to re-purpose the memorial to "something that sends a message of unity rather than division, and a legacy of slavery."
"Anything worth having is worth fighting for," Dixon ends.