Republicans join effort to change confederate statues representing MS in Washington

Statuary Hall could have changes coming in 2025

Several Republican Mississippi lawmakers are now seeking to replace confederate statues representing the state in Washington, D.C. just weeks after Arkansas installed a statue of a civil rights activist next to Mississippi’s Jefferson Davis.

During the 2024 session, several bills were filed to either replace or establish a commission to find replacements for Davis, a U.S. Senator and most notably president of the Confederate States of America, and James Z. George, a Confederate politician, military officer and namesake of George County. However, those bills died without ever being brought up in House or Senate Rules Committees.

The statues, meanwhile, have been displayed for about 100 years in the U.S. Congress’ Statuary Hall. The Davis statue now stands adjacent to that of Arkansas’ Daisy Bates, a Black civil rights leader involved in the integration of Little Rock’s Central High School among many other efforts. The juxtaposition of thew two is notable.

House Rules Committee Chairman Fred Shanks, R-Brandon, who previously declined to comment on a related report in February, told the Clarion Ledger Tuesday he is planning to address changing the statues in the 2025 session.

More on 2024 efforts Confederate symbols removal pushed by Mississippi Democrats in State Capitol, Washington DC

“It’s a big deal, and it’s going to be an extremely hot topic,” Shanks said. “I wanted some time to look at it when we don’t have some of the other major things that impact the state going on like we did this past session.”

Senate Rules Chairman Dean Kirby, R-Pearl, did not respond to several calls and messages seeking comment, nor did House Speaker Jason White, R-West. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann’s staff declined to comment.

Sen. Nicole Boyd, R-Oxford, told the Clarion Ledger she has been quietly working on this legislation for a few years, and she plans to pitch an outside group connected to tourism to lobby, advocate and spearhead efforts for replacing Davis and George with more modern historical representations of Mississippi.

“It’s not about who’s coming down. It’s about who we can put there,” Boyd said. “It’s about what are the things that we want to promote in the state that we want to use as tourism to attract people.”

Senate Minority Leader Derrick Simmons said he believes it has bipartisan support.

“Even though this effort has been laid by Democrats, Democrats and Republicans want to honor someone who is more representative of a modern day Mississippi,” Simmons, who is from Greenville, said.

Several other House and Senate Democrats had harsh words for Republican leaders waiting until now just to address the statues.

“It shows that the leadership of those various committees had the opportunity to review that legislation but turned their eye and turned away from doing what’s right,” Rep. Chris Bell, D-Jackson, said.

Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, said the state can simply do better than have Davis and George representing the state in the Capitol.

“I anticipate that we will file this bill again. It sets up a commission to study who best represents Mississippi,” he said. “There are any number of controversial subjects that go to the Rules Committee and (it’s) generally not the place for controversial topics, and I understand that, but this is important.”

What is Statuary Hall, and who is Daisy Bates?

Statuary Hall was established in the U.S. Congress’ Capitol building in 1807, but it was destroyed by British troops in 1814. The hall, along with the Capitol, was rebuilt a few years later.

Over the many years, states have submitted so many statues that the Architect of the Capitol has had to display several in other places around the capitol building. Mississippi is also one of only a few states with confederate statues still in the building. Arkansas, a previous member of that list, voted to change its statue in 2019.

Since 2000, 17 states have changed their statues, according to congressional records, and some Southern states have or are replacing Confederate people with modern historical figures, civil rights activist and even prominent Native Americans. Arkansas now has Bates; Virginia has Barbara Johns, and Florida now has Mary McLeod Bethune, one of the most important Black educators of the 20th century.

According to the National Women’s History Museum, Bates was a prominent civil rights activist in Little Rock Arkansas. Throughout the 1900s, she helped lead a popular newspaper, The Arkansas Weekly, served as the President of the NAACP Arkansas chapter and pushed the state’s schools to integrate after the U.S. Supreme Court deemed segregation unconstitutional in 1954.

She was widely known for her efforts with the Arkansas Nine, a group of nine students she regularly drove and assisted to integrate Central High School in Little Rock.

“She regularly drove the students to school and worked tirelessly to ensure they were protected from violent crowds. She also advised the group and even joined the school’s parent organization,” the Museum wrote about her.

The Arkansas NAACP chapter, nor the chapter representing her native Union County, responded to several calls or messages asking for comment on Bates or her statue’s placement in Congress.

How to replace a statue, who is being considered?

Boyd said that even if the Legislature approves replacing Davis and George, it will need approval from a congressional committee, and locations to move the two existing statues will need to be submitted and approved as well.

All the costs associated with removing the old statues and the construction and installation of the new statues would be put on the state.

Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, who spoke to the Clarion Ledger earlier this year, floated rock’n’roll legend Elvis Presley and Blues icon B.B. King. Another name suggested by Democrats was famous civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer.

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Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.