Simon Elfrink
Staff Writer
Controversy regarding the Confederate memorial statue at the corner of the Murray-Calloway County Courthouse is on the rise as the decision to keep the statue is once again under dispute.
The monument, set in the image of former Confederate General Robert E. Lee, has become the target of great controversy in light of recent national events and the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement. Messages have already been written on the sidewalk before the statue in chalk. Barring any rain, messages such as “Robert E. LEAVE!” and “Tear it down!” can be seen in passing.
Several community members and students have worked together to organize the “March on Murray” advocating for the removal of the statue happening on Friday, Aug. 28. One advocate of its removal is Murray State Assistant Football Coach Sherman Neal, who spoke at length with the Ohio Valley Resource about his distaste for the monument and what he believes it stands for. One of the solutions protestors have proposed is to relocate the statue to Bowman Cemetery in Murray.
“Just like that statue’s a symbol to discourage us from pursuing certain jobs or professions or justice,” Neal said to Ohio Valley Resource. “What’s not up there are people like Harriet Tubman.”
Many in opposition of moving the statue have gathered at the statue to counter protest.
Now that the march is fast approaching, politically-inclined students on Murray State’s campus are voicing their own opinions about the statue. Members of the Murray State College Democrats expressed their quarrel with the statue in an interview The News had with its president, Ryan Ackermann.
The College Democrats view the statue as a symbol of racism, erected in a time when Jim Crow laws oppressed the Black community in southern states.
“Since it was erected in the Jim Crow era, and it was directly funded by the Daughters of the Confederacy, we think that the statue was erected based on these racist ideologies that have been prevalent throughout America’s existence,” Ackermann said.
Ackermann went on to explain the image of Robert E. Lee isn’t one he and the rest of the College Democrats think should be portrayed on the corner of the courthouse square. Ackermann claimed the statue can only be interpreted as a glorification of the side Lee fought for during the Civil War.
Some say the monument commemorates the lives given by Kentucky soldiers during the Civil War. Ackermann recognized this counterpoint by saying the protestors don’t necessarily want to do away with the monument altogether. Rather, Ackermann suggested the monument should be moved to the resting place of Confederate soldiers in Bowman Cemetery instead of the place of justice in the county.
There have been over 100 comments on the College Democrat’s Facebook post about the march. One of the comments came from a citizen who opposing the relocation of the statue.
“How about you guys go march on something that will really make a difference like child disappearances or domestic violence,” Marcia Ann Perry said in the post. “That statue has been there for well over 100 years and was not paid for by you. Who do you think you are to march into a city and demand anything? It has been voted down twice. Go find something else to protest.”
The Murray State College Republicans declined to partake in an official interview, instead sending The News a message from an unnamed member of their organization.
“We stand adamantly opposed to any notion of discrimination in our society and hold firmly the belief that each individual should be regared with the utmost respect,” the College Republicans said. “We trust that our elected officials will act in accordance with the greatest good for our society to bolster a time of peace and unity within our community. We hope that their future decisions on the matter will be applied with respect to the interests and feelings of the community’s citizens.”
Petitions have been drifting around the county to both remove and keep the monument. After the City Council unanimously voted on a resolution to support the relocation of the statue, the movement was brought to the Calloway County Fiscal Court to decide whether or not to remove it. However, at that time, the Fiscal Court denied the City Council’s resolution, unanimously voting against the motion and electing to keep the monument.
The protestors plan to march on Friday, Aug. 28, at 6 p.m. from the Murray State gates to the location of the statue.
