The monument, erected in 1917 during the height of the Jim Crow era, honors county residents who fought for the South in the Civil War. It is owned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
Murray resident and Murray State Assistant Football Coach Sherman Neal II, an outspoken critic of the monument, asked commissioners to vote for a resolution to begin the process of moving it. Neal said there has been an overwhelming show of support in the community to remove the statue.
"Nothing changes in this country or this community without the will of the people behind it," Neal said. "Now we have the will of the people, and we've seen that in formal polls of 10,000 to 2,000. That's a four to one ratio, something you won't find in any political controversy in the United States or this community today."
Neal said the monument represents a man who fought for the preservation of the institution of slavery, and because of that it has no rightful place on public land.
"The [Civil] War was fought between two parties. One of those parties' platform was the subjugation of other human beings. The man sitting on top of that statue was for the subjugation of other human beings. Regardless of what his statements may or may not have been, by bringing up arms and decommissioning himself from the United States military, he represents that subjugation. That's something that we all have to reckon with every day." Neal said.
Murray resident Blake Hughes spoke in favor of keeping the statue where it is, suggesting that Neal has not lived in the community long enough to have a say in the matter.
"No one who has spent only a small fraction of their lives in our community should dictate the ways in which we remember our ancestors' history, or how we remember historical figures important to us," Hughes said. "There is no situation in which I would move to another place and then demand that place conform to my wishes or modify their historical remembrances. Even to imagine such a scenario is frankly absurd."
Hughes went on to associate the efforts to take the statue down with some of the violent incidents that have taken place recently across the country during widespread protests against police brutality.
"The timing is far too convenient, coinciding with the illegal and despicable destruction, burning and looting of businesses, government buildings and historical artifacts across the country." Hughes said.
In the end Judge-Executive Kenny Imes and commissioners took no action on the matter, citing numerous legal hurdles that must be overcome prior to making a decision.
"We will not be acting on the point of taking [the statue] down today. Whatever we're gonna do in the short term or the long term will be done with every I dotted and every T crossed." He said.
Imes acknowledged there has been a huge public outpouring of interest in the issue, saying he plans to organize a public meeting at some time in the future to discuss the issue further.
"Yesterday I got 127 emails. Our office has probably gotten 500 phone calls a day," Imes said. "We listen to the calls. We've got two lines in there and they are still ringing off the wall."
On the Net:
Murray City Council Wants Confederate Statue Moved
