The group met at the capitol in Montgomery, Ala. Saturday afternoon to condemn the ad.
“We’re upset about her using this campaign ad to attract voters to tell people why they should vote for her,” said Benard Simelton, the president of the Alabama NAACP, according to CNN.
Silmelton believes there are a lot of other things Ivey could have made “the hallmark of her campaign.”
“There are a lot of others things she could have made the hallmark of her campaign– education, our horrible criminal justice system. She could have talked about those things that are very, very important to the state of Alabama,” Simelton added.
The ad in question was released by Ivey’s campaign last Tuesday as part of her election bid for a full-term as Governor.
In the 30-second spot, Ivey says “when special interests wanted to tear down our historical monuments, I said no!” In response she signed a law to protect the monuments.
The law, the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act, which preserves all historical monuments on public property that have been in place for at least 40 years, was passed in May 2017.
Ivey’s campaign is defending the ad saying it “we shouldn’t … tear down history.”
“Our ad highlights a law that was passed by the legislature and signed by the governor to protect all of our historical monuments. We can’t, and we shouldn’t change, erase or tear down history. We should learn from all of it,” the campaign said in a statement.
