In 2021, Amanda Burrows had an answer to a giant Confederate flag that was erected along a popular route to the Lake of the Ozarks: a billboard with the anti-racist message, “EQUALITY BIGGER THAN HATE.”
She raised money through GoFundMe to lease the billboard so visitors would not leave with the impression that the area was stuck in a place of “ignorance, hate, & racism.” She wanted to let visitors know the flag did not speak for everyone in the community.
The goal was to cover expenses for six months.
But when news of the billboard spread, donations rolled in and she secured leases for both sides of the billboard along U.S. 54 highway just south of Eldon, Missouri. She raised just under $50,000 and was able to keep her message there for three years, a fact which fills her with pride.
“You know, outside of my personal life, like my family life, it’s one of the things I’m most proud of,” she said, as she also gave credit to the others who played a role in the campaign.
But now, with the funds exhausted, Burrows said her involvement is now ending, despite the overshelmingly positive feedback she’s gotten for the effort. In fact, she said t he support she received over the years outweighed the negative comments nearly five to one.