A Kentucky lawmaker plans to introduce legislation during the 2021 General Assembly that would remove the statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis from the Capitol Rotunda.
Sen. Christian McDaniel (R-Taylor Mill) said, “The Rotunda is a place where those who are honored should represent the best qualities of mankind. It should honor and extoll the virtues of sacrifice, honor, integrity, respect for your fellow man and striving for the common good. As I think about those values and aspirations, it’s clear that the statue of Jefferson Davis falls short on every level.”
He described Davis as “a man who did not claim Kentucky as his native state, and his crowning achievement was to serve as the head of the Confederacy, and the movement that cost hundreds of thousands of Americans their lives.
“While there is no denying that he has a place in history, there is also no denying that his place in history is not one of honor, and has not earned the right to stand alongside Abraham Lincoln.”
His bill would replace the Davis statue with one honoring Carl Brashear, a Hardin County native who overcame racism, illiteracy, poverty, physical disability and substance abuse, to become a Master Chief Petty Officer and the first African-American U. S. Navy Master Diver.
Brashear was honored by having a U.S. Navy cargo ship named in his honor and was the subject in the movie “Men of Honor.” He died in 2006.
However, moving the statute may not have to wait until lawmakers convene in 2021.
At the request of Gov. Andy Beshear, the chairperson of the Historic Properties Advisory Commission, Steve Collins, has called a special meeting of the commission on Friday at 1 p.m. EDT, for the purpose of considering the removal of the Jefferson Davis statue.
Beside the statue of Jefferson Davis, who was born in Fairview, the others currently in the Capitol Rotunda are Lexington resident Henry Clay, Vice President Alben Barkley of Graves County and Danville resident Dr. Ephraim McDowell in the corners, while the center is occupied by Abraham Lincoln.
The Jefferson Davis statue has been the subject of discussion for several years. While in 2015 the Historic Properties Advisory Commission decided not to remove it from the Rotunda, two years later it voted to remove a plaque that described Davis as “Patriot-Hero-Statesman.”
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Written by Tom Latek. Cross-posted from Kentucky Today.