There is perhaps more momentum and support than ever to remove the Confederate statue from the Daviess County Courthouse lawn, though any decision on the matter is a long way off. Still, there are at least conversations between county officials and citizens.
The Rev. Rhondalyn Randolph, president of the Owensboro NAACP chapter, led an effort to remove the statue in 2017 but didn’t have enough backing from the community. It could be different this time around.
Following the recent unjust deaths to Breonna Taylor and George Floyd — which have led to state and national protests against police brutality and for racial equality — there has been a strong push to remove Confederate statues from government properties across the country.
In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear is actively working on having the Jefferson Davis statue removed from the Capitol Rotunda. He’s also called for Confederate statues across the state to be removed.
“Communities around the country, not just Kentucky are following suit to that,” Randolph said. “There is a consensus in what those statues stand for. I think we have moved past that time in our history. We want to bring unity to our country.”
One of the primary arguments against the removal of such statues is that they represent history, though others argue that it doesn’t make sense to “glorify” figures who were on the losing side of a war fueled by racism.
Randolph said she understands those who want to keep the statue as a marker of history, but a museum would be a more fitting home.
“The argument I always hear when I propose removing it from its location is that it will be taking a piece of history away from the city, or it’s there to honor the dead,” she said. “The museum could accommodate that. I’ve been in touch with them, and they would be willing to house it. That way it can still accurately portray history according to the Confederacy and it wouldn’t destroy the monument.”
Daviess County Judge-Executive Al Mattingly said he encourages more conversations about removing the statue but refrained from saying with which side he agrees.
“It’s not up to me whether or not it comes down,” he said. “It takes three votes on the court. I think we need to have a community conversation.”
While many Confederate statues honor a specific figure, Daviess County’s is a memorial of a common soldier to honor the dead. It was put there in 1900.
Mattingly and Randolph are meeting next week to discuss the issue further. However, Mattingly said he hopes people don’t lose focus on the bigger picture.
“I hope it doesn’t take away from the real issues that exist in the community regarding racism and discrimination,” he said. “I think it’s part of a larger conversation that needs to be held, kind of like the conversation we had regarding gay rights. The more you talk about it, the more you understand (all the) sides. There are as many sides as people involved.”
Randolph agrees there are other problems that may be more pertinent to focus on, but she said it doesn’t change the fact that the statue is an issue.
“It is an easy fix,” she said. “I feel that we could come up with a compromise that would be like a peace offering to show that we are trying to make that first step of being more inclusive of all of Owensboro, and we are being intentional of considering the minority population and the choices that we make of how it may impact them.”
