Charlottesville: Removal of Confederate monument in Kentucky is ‘accelerated’ after deadly violence

The mayor of Lexington, Kentucky, is pushing forward on plans to remove Confederate symbols from government grounds after the devastating attack in Virginia that left one dead and 19 injured in a clash over white nationalism.

Mayor Jim Gray said that the events in Charlottesville — where an individual plowed a car through a group of people protesting a white supremacist rally there — had accelerated the process to remove the symbols.

“We have thoroughly examined this issue and heard from many of our citizens,” Mr Gray said in a statement the day of the tragedy. “The tragic events in Charlottesville today have accelerated the announcement I intended to make next week.”

The mayor intends on asking the Lexington-Layette County Urban County Council to take a first step in the removal process by asking the state military commission for permission to remove two statues. Those statues portray John Hunt Morgan and John C Breckinridge. The vote, Mr Gray said, was already in the works.

The Kentucky Military Heritage Commission would need to green light the removal of the statues, and officials with the city and county have been warned that approval wouldn’t be granted until the city decides where the statues would be moved. That commission was established more than 40 years ago, and is tasked with identifying and preserving historic sites and monuments in Kentucky.

Mr Gray’s relationship with the monuments, just as can be said for many in Kentucky and the United States, is one of competing narratives and heritages. All his life, Mr Gray has heard stories of three great uncles who fought in the Civil War — two who fought for the Union Army, and one who fought for the Confederate Army — and the complex legacy that creates.

But, now as mayor, he is overseeing a transition of the old Fayette County courthouse in downtown Lexington. The city wants to create a new and welcoming center for visitors as a part of a $30 million renovation intending to position the city as a beacon of a new and progressive South. But, standing in the way of the project’s success — which will have a planned bourbon bar, office space, and restaurant — are the two Confederate monuments that represent a history of slavery and racism for many, while at the same time representing an enduring heritage to others.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Mr Gray recently told the Washington Post about his support for moving the monuments. “But doing it right is just as important.”

As the events in Charlottesville and elsewhere show, the removal of Confederate memorials and symbols can have deadly effects. White supremacists had originally decided to hold their rally in the Virginia town known more for being a quiet college town than political activism, as a result of plans to remove a statue of Robert E Lee there. That rally was quickly dispersed by police over violent skirmishes between the white supremacists and counter-protesters.

Other attempts throughout the country to bring down Confederate memorials have resulted in varying levels of violence, and frequently result in vocal opposition.

Lexington’s statues honour Morgan — a man known then as the “Thunderbolt of the Confederacy” — and Breckinridge — the former US vice president who was kicked out of the Senate for joining the Confederate army. Breckinridge served as the last Confederate secretary of war.

Mr Gray’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent.