FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is calling for the removal of the statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis from the State Capitol Rotunda.
“I believe that the statue of Jefferson Davis should not be in the Rotunda,” Beshear told reporters.
Beshear addressed the issue when asked about the statue in light of continuing protests over mistreatment of African Americans, and the shooting death of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police.
“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?"
Beshear said he is “looking at" options for removing the 15-foot marble statue, which sits near a bronze statue of Lincoln. Davis and Lincoln were both born in Kentucky.
“Jefferson Davis’ statue is a symbol that divides us,” Beshear said. “And even if there are those that think it’s a part of history, there should be a better place to put it in historic context.”
State officials decided not to remove the statue in 2015.
In 2018, the Historic Properties Advisory Commission removed a plaque that had been attached to the statue that declared Davis to be to be a, "Patriot, Hero, Statesman."
The monument was placed in the Capitol Rotunda in 1936.
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