Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has joined Gov. Andy Beshear in calling for the removal and relocation of a statue of Confederate president Jefferson Davis from the Capitol Rotunda.
Last week, Beshear said about the statue, “Even if there are those who think it’s a part of history, there should be a better place to put it in historic context. And right now, seeing so much pain in our state and across our country, can’t we at least realize that in so many of our fellow Kentuckians … it is in the very least so hurtful to them? And doesn’t that at least justify it not sitting where it does right now?
“I don’t think it should be in the Capitol Rotunda,” he added.
Cameron, the first black man to be elected Kentucky’s Attorney General, said in a statement on Tuesday that Jefferson Davis is part of our past, “but he didn’t define our future, Abraham Lincoln did.”
“I think the Davis statue should be relocated,” Cameron said. “… I can think of many other historical figures more deserving of a permanent home in our Capitol.”
Neither Beshear nor Cameron have the power to order the removal of the statue, as that decision lies with the 14 member Historic Properties Advisory Commission.
The issue of Confederate statues has been placed in the forefront in recent days as protests have raged in many American cities over the murder of George Floyd, 46, a black man, by a Minneapolis police officer and the shooting death of black jogger Ahmaud Arbery, 25, in Georgia by armed vigilantes.
Additionally, in Louisville, Lexington and several smaller Kentucky cities, rallies have been held over the last 10 days in memory of Breonna Taylor, 26,who was shot eight times by Louisville police in March as they executed a no-knock warrant, and David McAtee, 53, who died after National Guard members and Louisville police apparently exchanged gunfire with McAtee while clearing a Louisville parking lot during a protest.
It was announced on Tuesday that the bullet that killed McAtee was fired by the National Guard.
The Davis statue was placed in the Capitol Rotunda in 1936. He was born in Fairview, Kentucky, on the Christian/Todd county line, in 1808.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
