Petition calls for Confederate statue to be replaced with Missy Elliott monument

People across the US are rallying together to get rid of statues and monuments featuring Confederate figures because they represent America’s history of slavery and oppression – and one man in Portsmouth, Virginia know exactly who he would prefer to memorialise.

Nathan Coflin has created a petition to get rid of a Confederate monument in Portsmouth and replace it with one of the town’s best known natives. “Who better to encapsulate the culture and spirit of the city enshrined in a new monument than Grammy Award winning rapper, dancer, and record producer Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott?”

That’s right, a petition has been set up to call for a commemorative statue of Missy Elliott, and we couldn’t be more behind it.

I don’t know what to say🙏🏾 just to see this warms my heart and it’s so humbling to me🙏🏾

— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) August 19, 2017

Missy, who was raised in Portsmouth, is one of the most successful female rappers of all time, with top ten hits including ‘Gossip Folks’, ‘Get Ur Freak On’ and ‘Work It’. She recently came back on the scene after taking a few years out of the spotlight. Her 2015 comeback track ‘WTF (Where They From)’ was an instant earworm that never got the airplay or recognition it deserved.

The petition, which has almost 30,000 signatures so far, reads: “Getting this statue put up will be a lot of work and you may ask yourself is it worth it? I say yes and ask you to join me in letting us work it.

“Together we can put white supremacy down, flip it and reverse it. Let us come together in getting City Council to erect this statue in honor of Missy Elliott and all those in the great City of Portsmouth who work it each and every day. Ycamerpus Etihw!”

Responding to the outpouring of love from fans on Twitter, Missy wrote: “I don’t know what to say just to see this warms my heart and it’s so humbling to me.”

If you would like to see a statue of Missy Elliott (and who wouldn’t), click here.

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