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Jefferson Davis Statue Defaced At University Of Texas

By Tara Dodrill
Published on: 01:24 PST, May 11, 2015

The Jefferson Davis statute was defaced at University of Texas because some students felt the “ties to slavery” memorial should be removed. In April, a majority of University of Texas (UT) student government representatives voted to remove the Jefferson Davis statue and sent their resolution to college officials.

University of Texas officials did not remove the Jefferson Davis statue after the request by student government. “Davis must fall” and “Emancipate UT” graffiti phrases were written onto the statue representing the Confederate president.

“We thought, there are those old ties to slavery and some would find it offensive,” said University of Texas senior, Jamie Nalley, told the press after the Jefferson Davis statue defaced story went viral.

There are currently more than 1,000 Confederate memorial sites in Texas. The Civil War memorials and moments reportedly including an obelisk honoring 450 buried Confederate soldiers located a few miles away from the site of the Jefferson Davis defaced statue.

“I think it’s offensive that you exalt Jefferson Davis but you don’t exalt Abraham Lincoln,” said Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP.

Although members of the University of Texas student leaders wanted the Jefferson Davis statue removed from campus, there is support to keep memorial to the Confederate president standing.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans in Texas, one of the groups which support the Jefferson Davis statue, said such memorial represent southern heritage.

“I don’t think we’re trying to put up stuff just to put up stuff. We don’t want to impede anyone else from honoring their heroes. We would like to honor our heroes with the same consideration, tolerance, and diversity,” Marshall Davis, spokesman for the Son of Confederate Veterans in Texas, said.

Jefferson Davis, a Kentucky native, was president of the Confederate States of America throughout the Civil War. Davis was ultimately captured and imprisoned by Union soldiers in 1865. Davis was released on bail in 1867 and died in New Orleans in 1889.

Many Confederate memorials were commissioned by Civil War veterans, according to the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas. States rights was reportedly the most often cited reason when requests for placement of memorials like the Jefferson Davis statue, were made.

What do you think about the Jefferson Davis statue defaced over slavery and racism claims?

[Image via: Daily Texas/staff photographer Andy Nyugen]

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