Jefferson Davis lost the Civil War and now his statue has lost its spot in KY Capitol
A panel that oversees statues in the Kentucky Capitol voted 11-1 Friday to remove the controversial statue of Confederacy President Jefferson Davis from the Rotunda, in line with Gov. Andy Beshear’s request.
The panel’s decision to remove the statue also called for it to be moved to the Jefferson Davis Historic Site in Todd County, where Davis was born.
After being in the Capitol since 1936 at the behest of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the 15-foot-tall, Tennessee marble statue is to vacate Kentucky’s seat of power, a wrong place for a divisive symbol of slavery, Beshear and others have said.
Momentum to relocate it accelerated as recent protests have been held across the country and in Kentucky against racial injustice. Several civil rights leaders and politicians in the state, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Attorney General Daniel Cameron, said the Davis statue should be moved.
Plywood and other equipment were stationed near the statue Friday morning for its exit, even before the state Historic Properties Advisory Commission met via teleconferencing. A crew of several men worked until early Friday evening preparing for the statue’s removal, which is expected to happen Saturday morning.
Within minutes after the commission vote, Beshear said in a statement it was “a historic day in the commonwealth.”
“It was past time for this vote and for this action,” Beshear said. “But what it will mean is that we get a little closer to truly being Team Kentucky — that every child who walks into this Capitol feels welcome, and none of them have to look at a symbol and a statue that stands for the enslavement of their ancestors.”
He said the decision shows that everyone is welcome in the Capitol.
John Suttles of Paducah, a past commander of the Kentucky division of Sons of Confederate Veterans, disagreed.
Asked his opinion of the commission’s vote, Suttles said, “We will let our lawyers do the talking.” He said Thursday that a lawsuit is possible.
The commission has 14 members. Beshear appointed four of them and former Gov. Matt Bevin appointed five. The remaining five members serve based on their positions in state government. First lady Britainy Beshear serves as an honorary, non-voting member. The only member absent during Friday’s meeting was Marion C. Forcht, a Bevin appointee.
The first lady said during the 27-minute meeting that she hopes the board “does the right thing.”
The only vote against the motion to remove the statue was cast by Brandon Todd Wilson, Bevin appointee.
Wilson, saying he did not mean to offend Mrs. Beshear, said the governor was “politicizing” the issue for his own agenda and the public should “welcome all history.” He said the commission was “on a slippery slope” by removing a historical statue.
No statue should ever have been placed in the Capitol, Wilson said, before making a motion to remove all statues from the Rotunda, including one of President Abraham Lincoln.
The board’s chairman, Steve Collins, said only one item was on the agenda for Friday’s special meeting and the panel could not consider any other motions.
Commission member Cathy Thomas, a Beshear appointee, said the Davis statue was not a product of his lifetime but that it was placed in the Kentucky Capitol during the Jim Crow era. Jim Crow laws were state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
She said the Davis statue “reaffirms a legacy of white supremacy,” noting that she grew up during segregation.
Thomas also said she hopes the Todd County site will provide educational materials about the statue.
Commission member Jon Park, a Bevin appointee who voted a “reluctant” yes, said he was “torn” over the issue of removing the statue.
“It never should have been there,” he said, adding, “there are other statues in there that have a history as well.” He did not elaborate.
If there is a replacement statue for Davis in the Capitol, Park said, it should be one of Boyle County native John Marshall Harlan, an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1877 to 1911 who often is called “The Great Dissenter” due to his many dissents in cases that restricted civil liberties.
Park asked commission members who voted in 2015 to keep the Davis statue in the Capitol why they have changed their minds.
Craig Potts, executive director of the Kentucky Heritage Council, said the 2015 commission thought it could produce educational materials for all the statues in the Capitol but that never happened.
Beshear had suggested Thursday that the statue go to the Jefferson Davis Historic site in Todd County, which has a 351-foot obelisk constructed on a foundation of solid Kentucky limestone.
He also said there will be “a robust discussion” on what will replace the statue. He said the space could be used for extra seating, a new statue could be installed or a series of statues could be rotated at the site.
Beshear acknowledged that he had talked to members of the historic properties panel and said he expected a bipartisan vote to remove the statue.
A handful of protesters milled around outside as the vote came down, including Ron King of Estill County. He drove to Frankfort for the second time this week to protest Davis’ removal. He held a sign that said, “There’s no Lincoln without Davis. Keep the statues in place!!”
“Somehow the governor is deciding that he is the only one who knows what is right. He doesn’t bear to let out for the public to decide,” King said. “If you’re going to remove Davis, remove Lincoln.” The Rotunda has five statues, including Davis’. Lincoln is in the center.
Raoul Cunningham, with the Louisville NAACP, said he is “overjoyed” with the commission’s vote.
“I never thought this would happen in my lifetime,” he said. “I’m just sorry Georgia Davis Powers is not here to see this.” Cunningham and the late Powers, a civil rights activist and a state senator, started campaigning in 2003 to remove the Davis statue from the Capitol.
“All this shows the importance of electing the right people to public office,” said Cunningham.
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 1:41 PM.
