LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A mix of opinions circles a roundabout on Cherokee Road, where atop a concrete pedestal used to stand a statue of John B. Castleman. For years, the monument was a point of controversy due to Castleman's ties to the Confederacy.
Three years after its removal in 2020, the debate continues.
A local advocacy group, Friends of Louisville Public Art, continues to gather in the Cherokee Triangle neighborhood with signs, calling on the city to bring the statue back.
"They should never had removed it in the first place," said Steve Wiser, with Friends of Louisville Public Art. "Let's celebrate how Castleman turned his life around and did great things for Louisville."
The statue, which was erected in 1913, currently sits in a gated government lot, covered in the bright orange spray paint that it was repeatedly vandalized with in its final months.
While the Friends of Louisville Public Art group continues to call for the statue's return, some in the neighborhood said they'd rather see something else in the spot.
"With the connotations behind the statue itself, I really don't think it's the place for it, especially considering it is constantly vandalized," said Damien Campbell-Vickers, who lives just down the road.Â
Campbell-Vickers said it's still a hot topic in the area and he was discussing it with neighbors just this week.
"The level of vandalism that comes with it coming back into the neighborhood, there's definitely a safety concern for the residents here," he said.
Vandalized statue of John B. Castleman in Cherokee Triangle in 2019. (WDRB Image)Â
The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled in April that the Castleman statue was improperly removed from Cherokee Triangle.
The thrust of the case was not whether the statue of Castleman — a depiction of him riding a horse, dressed in civilian clothes — served as a symbol of "racist or bigoted ideology," as former Mayor Greg Fischer has said, but whether the city followed due process in removing it.
Justice Angela Bisig was the only dissention, arguing there was no proof put forward that the two Fischer employees on the Landmark commission "operated under actual conflicts of interest."
The ruling does not necessarily mean the statue will be moved back to Cherokee Park but that the case is sent back down to circuit court for the process to begin again. A ruling is expected soon.
"If the local judge sides with the city, we'll continue the court case," Wiser said.
"Louisville Metro Government has no plans to place the Castleman statue back in its original location nor any interest in doing so," Kevin Trager, press secretary for Mayor Craig Greenberg's office, reiterated in a written statement Wednesday. "On July 20th, we will participate in a community facility review before the landmarks and planning commissions where we will explain our decision. As we begin to look at new options for that site we will be soliciting public input in the coming months."
In addition to bringing back the Castleman statue, Friends of Louisville Public Art is also advocating for a memorial in a median near the former site of the statue honoring more than a dozen Black leaders who fought against segregation of Louisville's park system. According to the group, Castleman kept the parks integrated during his lifetime.
"This memorial is long overdue," Wiser said.
Looking back through the years, Fischer announced the removal of the Castleman and George Prentice statues in 2018, saying they served as racist symbols. The Prentice statue was removed from its spot in front of the downtown library in December 2018.
On May 9, 2019, Louisville's Landmark Commission voted to remove the Castleman statue.
The Landmark Commission's vote followed a January 2019 vote by the Cherokee Triangle Review Commission that ended in a tie, meaning the statue could not be removed.
That's when the city appealed to the Landmarks Commission, which gave the green light for the statue's removal. The statue was removed in 2020.
Related Stories:
- Attorney asks judge to order return of Castleman statue to Cherokee Triangle after Supreme Court ruling
- Louisville won't return Castleman statue to Cherokee Triangle after Supreme Court ruling, mayor says
- Kentucky Supreme Court rules controversial Castleman statue was improperly removed from Cherokee Triangle
- Castleman statue removed from Cherokee Triangle
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