The statue of Confederacy President Jefferson Davis will be removed from the Kentucky Capitol Rotunda and relocated to a historic site in Todd County after a nearly unanimous vote from a panel that oversees statues in Frankfort. The decision comes as the debate about whether to remove Confederate statues rages on from the local to national level.
The Historic Properties Advisory Commission voted 11-1 Friday to remove the Davis statue, which has been at the Capitol in Frankfort since 1936.
Gov. Andy Beshear has stressed throughout the week that he thought the statue should be removed.
“It was past time for this vote and for this action,” he said. “Today is a move toward showing that everybody is welcome in this building and that our government should work for the betterment of every single Kentuckian – that we have systematic issues that we must address, but that now is the time to truly move forward, to truly make progress and to show that Team Kentucky includes every single Kentuckian.”
Locally, the decision on the Davis statue could add even more momentum to the push to remove the Confederate statue from the Daviess County Courthouse lawn, though any decision on the matter is a long way off.
Still, there are at least conversations between county officials and citizens.
The Rev. Rhondalyn Randolph, president of the Owensboro NAACP chapter, led an effort to remove the statue in 2017 but didn’t have enough backing from the community.
She’s got more support this time around, and the removal of statues in both Kentucky and across the nation have set a precedent.
Daviess County Judge-Executive Al Mattingly said earlier this week that he encourages more conversations about removing the statue but refrained from saying with which side he agrees.
Mattingly and Randolph are meeting next week to discuss the issue further.
