A petition on Change.org, started by an organization known as Citizens of Paducah, calls for the "swift removal" of the statue of General Lloyd Tilghman in Paducah's Lang Park, and says the monument "should not exist and tax-paying Paducahans should not be funding its upkeep".
"In addition to removal, we call for the creation of a plan in conjunction with Black community leaders to replace this Confederate memorial with a memorial dedicated to Paducahans who have fought for Black lives." the petition continues.
The Tilghman monument was built in 1909 by His Sons and United Daughters of the Confederacy. It was listed on the Register of Historic Places in 1997. So far the petition has gathered about 530 signatures since it was created three days ago.
A similar petition on Change.org by an anonymous person urges Calloway County Judge-Executive Kenny Imes and the Calloway County Fiscal Court to remove the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on the Murray Court Square. It has gathered almost 10,000 signatures since it was created about two weeks ago.
The petition says, "This statue is of the confederate soldier Robert E. Lee who fought FOR slavery. In order for our town to progress towards becoming an inclusive environment, we should remove this statue that promotes everything we should stand against which is racism."
The Lee monument was constructed in 1917 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
The petitions come amid a recent movement across the nation to remove Confederate monuments from public land. You can read them both at the links below.
On the Net:
Remove Confederate Monument of Robert E Lee in Murray, KentuckyReplace Paducah’s Lloyd Tilghman Statue
