BUTLER, Ga. -- The cool, busy lobby of the Taylor County courthouse features a bulletin board, a Dr Pepper vending machine and two framed rosters honoring local veterans of World War II. It is easy to spot the slight difference in wording that justifies displaying two plaques instead of one.

This list says “Whites,” and that list says “Colored.”

County officials explain that the segregated plaques continue to hang because state law says no publicly owned memorial dedicated to veterans of the United States — or of the Confederate States of America — shall be relocated, removed, concealed, et cetera, et cetera.