Explore the 2017 about the 2010s and 2020s controversy of this artwork, Statue of Jefferson Davis (U.S. Capitol).
In March 2017, the University of Mississippi held a panel discussion, “Revisiting Jefferson Davis and J.Z. George: U.S. Capitol Relics?,” to discuss the future of the statues. William Rogers, one of the panelists and president of the Mississippi Historical Society, stated that Elvis Presley, William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Medgar Evers or Fannie Lou Hamer would be good replacements for the Davis and George statues in the US Capitol. Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant told The Clarion-Ledger that he was willing to have "a general discussion about the Mississippi Statues [in National Statuary Hall]" and that "B.B. King and Elvis would be good possibilities for a replacement." Mississippi resident Al Price also told The Clarion-Ledger that he petitioned Mississippi State Senator Lydia Chassaniol to replace the statues, as "Jefferson Davis and James Z. George conjure images of the secession, the Civil War, slavery and the terrible legacy of Jim Crow." However, Chassaniol responded by condemning those "who refuse to recognize the efforts of  the 19th-century pioneers who settled this state and carved a civilization from the wilderness" and that she "refuses to take part in revisionist history."The aftermath of the Charlottesville Unite the Right Rally in August 2017 accelerated the removal of Confederate statues and monuments from many U.S. cities. It also sparked further interest in the statues representing Confederate figures in Statuary Hall, as well as calls for their removal from the U.S. Capitol. U.S. Representative Cedric Richmond (D-LA), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), stated that "the Confederate statues in the Capitol are offensive to all African-American congressmen and African Americans that visit the Capitol" and that the CBC would do "everything we can to remove them." US Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS) similarly stated that "Confederate memorabilia have no place in this country and especially not in the United States Capitol... These images symbolize a time of racial discrimination and segregation that continues to haunt this country and many African-Americans who still to this day face racism and bigotry." Former Mississippi Governor Ray Mabus also called for the same statues to be removed, saying that "They were put up to reestablish Jim Crow . . . to reestablish white control and white supremacy and to disenfranchise African Americans." U.S. News & World Report's Eric Englert, while discussing the statues honoring Confederate leaders in Statuary Hall, singled out the Davis statue, as Davis "espoused racist beliefs" like "his 1861 justification of slavery, writing that the idea that all men are created equal is a 'theory.'" Davis's descendant, Bertram Hayes-Davis, told CNN's Don Lemon that the Davis statue in the US Capitol was "placed there for a reason" and that he thinks "you have to look at the entire individual before you make a decision whether they belong at the Capitol of the United States or not." Hayes-Davis also said that statues should be moved to a place where they can be given historical context if they are "offensive to a large majority of the public."Legislation was introduced into both chambers of the United States Congress in September 2017 to remove all statues with ties to the Confederacy from the National Statuary Hall Collection. After it did not advance, the same legislation was reintroduced in 2020 and 2021.
Jefferson Davis Phil Bryant Lydia Chassaniol white supremacy Charlottesville Cedric Richmond Legislation James Z. George disenfranchise African Americans U.S. News & World Report revisionist history Bennie Thompson United States Ray Mabus legislation all men are created equal Don Lemon Mississippi State Senator Congressional Black Caucus The Clarion-Ledger Medgar Evers National Statuary Hall Collection accelerated the removal of Confederate statues and monuments from many U.S. cities Fannie Lou Hamer Eudora Welty William Faulkner Mississippi Governor slavery Congress B.B. King University of Mississippi panel discussion segregation carved a civilization from the wilderness Elvis Presley CNN National Statuary Hall Unite the Right Rally George legacy of Jim Crow Mississippi Historical Society United States Capitol United States Congress