University of Texas to Move Jefferson Davis Statue to Indoor Exhibit, School Confirms
ByThe University of Texas (UT) at Austin confirmed it will not remove their statue of Jefferson Davis, the Confederacy's President, but will uproot it and move it indoors.
According to The Washington Post, the school's Jefferson Davis statue will leave its spot at UT's Main Mall and find a new home in the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. The decision comes after the statue was anonymously spray painted with the message "Black Lives Matter" in June.
But the larger movement arose after Dylann Roof shot and killed multiple people at a historically black church in Charleston, S.C. In the aftermath of the attack, the state decided to remove the Confederate flag from the State Capitol building.
"As a public university, it is vital that we preserve and understand our history and help our students and the public learn from it in meaningful ways," UT Chancellor Gregory Fenves said in a statement. "Jefferson Davis had few ties to Texas but played a unique role in the history of the American South that is best explained and understood through an educational exhibit. The Briscoe Center has the expertise to do that."
Fenves added that the Main Mall statues of James Stephen Hogg, Albert Sidney Johnston, John H. Reagan and Robert E. Lee will stay where they are. Fenves commissioned a 12-member task force to come up with options for the Jefferson Davis statue after they completed their report.
"The Briscoe Center's planned renovation includes dedicated exhibit space for the role of symbolism, statuary and public memory in American history," Don Carleton, the center's executive director, said in the statement. "The Davis statue will be incorporated into this exhibit, where it will play a prominent role in educating students and visitors."