Confederate Monuments Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

West Virginia’s Three U.S. House Reps Vote Against Removing Confederate Statues From Capitol

All three Republican members of West Virginia’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives voted Tuesday against a measure that would remove confederate statues from the building where they work.

The effort comes as statues, memorials and other displays honoring the Confederacy have come down across the United States as a result of wide protest over the past year against racial injustice and a reckoning with the history of American slavery.

The House passed H.R. 3005 Tuesday evening on a 285-120 vote, with all no votes coming from Republicans. Democrats unanimously supported the bill and were joined by 67 Republicans.

The bill calls on the Joint Committee on the Library and the Capitol Architect to replace the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the U.S. Capitol with a bust of the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American to serve on the bench of the nation’s high court.

Taney was the author of the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision that declared that people of African descent were not citizens of the United States.

H.R. 3005 would also remove certain statues from areas that are publicly accessible and would remove all statues of individuals who voluntarily served the Confederate States of America.

Current federal law calls for each state’s legislature to select two statues to be displayed in the U.S. Capitol. Under H.R. 3005, any statues removed as part of the legislation would be returned to their home states.

West Virginia’s two statues include John E. Kenna, a Kanawha County native who joined the Confederate Army before later serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Francis Harrison Pierpont, a supporter of President Abraham Lincoln who became the provisional governor of West Virginia upon statehood.

Given the intent and focus of H.R. 3005, Kenna’s statue would be removed from the U.S. Capitol and returned to West Virginia.

Rep. David McKinley, who serves in West Virginia’s 1st District, said the issue is one that rests with individual states, which is why he decided to vote against H.R. 3005.

“Each state was allowed to place two statues in Statuary Hall. Congress should not usurp the authority of states. If the West Virginia legislature chooses to replace John E. Kenna with another statue, that is within their authority,” McKinley said. “Several other states are already considering replacing theirs.”

“If Congress opts to replace Chief Justice Roger B. Taney with Thurgood Marshall that’s within their jurisdiction,” McKinley added.

Rep. Alex Mooney also said the decision on what statues are displayed in the U.S. Capitol is one that should lie with individual states. But Mooney, who serves in West Virginia’s 2nd District, also accused Democrats of politicizing the effort.

“I voted against Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats’ effort to remove statues individual states sent to be honored in the Capitol,” Mooney said. “It is up to individual states to decide which statutes they want to be presented in the Capitol, not Nancy Pelosi and the ever-changing standards of political correctness from the Left.”

Rep. Carol Miller, from the state’s 3rd District, echoed the statements from her West Virginia congressional colleagues.

“Rep. Miller voted against the bill because this is a process between states, the Architect of the Capitol, and the Joint Committee on the Library,” Miller’s office said in a news release. “This was yet another messaging bill that House Democrats pushed to try to gain political points on an issue that Rep. Miller, and her Republican and Democrat colleagues alike, already agree on – There is no place for racism in America.”

Spokespersons for the West Virginia Senate and House of Delegates both said there are no current plans to remove or replace either of West Virginia’s two statues on display in the U.S. Capitol.

While statues and other markers honoring members of the confederacy — namely Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson — have been widely debated in West Virginia over the past year, few removals or alterations have taken place.

Statues of Jackson are prominently displayed on the grounds of the state capital in Charleston as well as outside the Harrison County Courthouse in Clarksburg. However, the Kanawha County Board of Education voted last fall to rename a middle school that was originally dedicated in Jackson’s honor.

West Virginia House Committee Clears Bill Protecting Confederate Monuments

A committee in the West Virginia House of Delegates advanced a bill to protect monuments, markers, places and namesakes honoring “historical military, civil rights, natural disasters or accidents, and Native American events, figures, and organizations.” But conversation Monday made it clear that most — if not all — of the attention was focused on protecting monuments honoring the Confederacy.

As passed by the House Government Organization Committee, House Bill 2174 would create a misdemeanor for removing, replacing, rededicating or disturbing a monument on any public property that honors a historical figure or event as outlined in the legislation.

The bill also would allow for a process for the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office to grant waivers under certain circumstances to allow for changes to be made to any monuments or namesakes.

The measure would protect the names of a wide swath of historical references found around the state. Discussion in committee Monday made it clear that those opposed to the bill see it as a way to protect monuments and places named after Confederate generals.

“I’m not aware of any efforts to take down statues of any of the other protected classes in the bill,” said Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia. “Just because this bill doesn’t mention the Civil War or the Confederacy doesn’t mean it’s not the most important part of this bill.”

In fact, in a list of military conflicts, the measure makes reference to the Civil War as “the war between the States.”

On a voice vote, lawmakers rejected an amendment that would have clarified that monuments and places honoring military events would only protect those who fought for the United States.

Following protests over racial injustice last summer, debates reignited around the nation about whether to keep monuments honoring the Confederate Army up in public spaces.

That debate also returned to West Virginia during the summer of 2020, particularly over places honoring Gen. Stonewall Jackson, a Confederate soldier and slave owner born in present day Clarksburg, West Virginia.

While the Kanawha County Board of Education voted to remove Jackson’s name from a Charleston middle school, the Harrison County Commission rejected a motion to remove a statue of Jackson in front of the county courthouse in downtown Clarksburg.

A movement to remove a statue and a bust of Jackson from the West Virginia Capitol Complex also failed, as Gov. Jim Justice punted the issue to the Legislature — although a commission made up of the governor’s appointees has the final say, according to state code.

In a December meeting of that commission, members heard comments from the public about the Jackson monuments on the Capitol grounds, but took no action.

As Monday’s meeting of the House Government Organization Committee wound down, Jackson was again referenced by Democrats, including Del. Jim Barach, D-Kanawha.

Barach made mention of monuments honoring the Union Army near the Jackson statue on the Capitol grounds.

“This whole bill is about protecting the Civil War, particularly Stonewall Jackson statues. I just find it ironic [if you] walk from that statue 200 yards [there’s] a statue of someone who was trying to shoot those people,” Barach said. “I just think that we should make up our minds here. And since we were not a Confederate state, we should vote this bill down.”

But Del. Geoff Foster, R-Putnam, argued otherwise.

“I understand there’s some characterizations that are being made,” Foster said. “But what this bill really does is set forward a process for removing a statue. It says it should not be removed unless we go to the State Historic Preservation Society.”

The bill cleared the committee on a 19-6 vote along party lines, with all Republicans supporting the measure and Democrats opposed.

Harrison Co. Commission Again Discusses Removal of Confederate Statue, Doesn’t Put It To A Vote

The Harrison County Commission revisited a discussion on the possible removal of a statute of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson that sits in front of the courthouse in Clarksburg.

During the Wednesday meeting — which was held by Zoom — a majority of speakers spoke against the statue’s removal.

Many said such an action would be “erasing history” and others referred to Jackson — who owned slaves — as a hero.

But the meeting was not without additional controversy.

While West Virginia Black History Festival Chair James Griffin was speaking in favor of the statue’s removal, several people attending virtually hijacked his allotted time. Griffith was continuously interrupted by explicit rap songs played through the audio feed. The “n-word” was clearly broadcast to virtual attendees.

A motion to vote on the statue’s removal failed to get a second from commissioners and no vote on the issue was taken.

In June, following similar discussion, the commission rejected a motion to remove the statue.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified the name of a man speaking to the commission. His name has since been corrected.

Groups Call on Capitol Building Commission To Remove Stonewall Jackson Statue

A group of 30 organizations across West Virginia is calling on the Capitol Building Commission and Gov. Jim Justice to take down a statue of Stonewall Jackson from the state Capitol grounds.

In an open letter, the groups including the ACLU of West Virginia, the NAACP of West Virginia, WVU Black Law Students Association, and the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, criticized the commission for meeting this week without discussing the matter.

“Although state and local governments across the country, including in our own capital city, are finally taking rightful action to remove statues and monuments that glorify some of the most shameful periods of our country’s history, the Commission’s reasoning for not addressing the statue’s continued presence on state grounds is because they had not received any requests to do so,” they wrote in the letter.

“Chairman [Randall] Reid-Smith and members of the Capitol Building Commission: Consider this a formal request,” they wrote to the panel who oversees structures on the grounds of the state capitol complex.

Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson was a Confederate general and slave holder, who was born in 1824 in what is now Clarksburg, West Virginia.

Earlier this week, the school board in Kanawha County voted to rename the former Stonewalll Jackson Middle School. And last week, the City of Charleston removed a bronze plaque from a memorial at one of its parks. It lists the names of local men who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Last month, Justice said whether the memorials at the state Capitol should remain are a matter for the Legislature to consider. He avoided saying whether he wants to see them taken down. But state code gives the Capitol Building Commission, which the governor partially appoints, authority to decide on the future of statues on Capitol grounds.

“I don’t think I have any right to make a decision. I think that’s a legislative right,” Justice said. “From the standpoint of my personal beliefs, I don’t feel like — that — anyone should feel uncomfortable here. This is our capitol. This is our state. This is our people.”

Controversial Confederate Plaque Will Get New Home In Museum

The Charleston City Council voted on Monday to donate a plaque honoring the Kanawha Riflemen, a company of Confederate soldiers, to a West Virginia history museum. The resolution didn’t specify which one but mentioned the Craik-Patton House Museum in Charleston as a possibility.

City workers removed the nearly 100-year-old plaque from Ruffner Park on Kanawha Boulevard on June 29, 2020. It listed the names of 92 members of the unit and was dedicated to honoring “those who served in the Confederate Army.”

Across Kanawha Boulevard from Ruffner Park, an historical marker explains the significance of the park and the confederate monument.

The monument was a gift to the city from the Kanawha Riflemen Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1922. It was built at a time when Jim Crow laws enforcing segregation were in effect.

The Kanawha Riflemen was formed by George Smith Patton, one of the namesakes of the Craik-Patton House, and the grandfather of World War II Gen. George S. Patton.

The resolution also requested that the Charleston Historic Landmarks Commission prepare a proposal for a new monument and other historical markers that discuss the history of Ruffner Park.

Marshall Board of Governors Votes To Remove Name Of Slaveholder, Confederate Soldier From Building

Updated Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at 2:45 p.m.

The Marshall University Board of Governors voted unanimously Tuesday to remove the name of a slaveholder and Confederate soldier from the building that houses the university’s education program. The name change comes as other markers and monuments honoring the Confederacy have been removed by choice or by force across the nation.

According to a news release, the board said the vote to remove the name of Albert Gallatin Jenkins came upon a recommendation from university President Jerome Gilbert. The building, which sits on Marshall’s main campus in Huntington, had been known as Jenkins Hall.

Jenkins was born in 1830 in what is now Cabell County, West Virginia. He served in the U.S. Congress before resigning in 1861 during the outbreak of the Civil War. Later, he served in the First Confederate States Congress.

The decision to change the name is a reversal of course for the board at the state’s second-largest university. In February 2019, the board decided to keep Jenkins’ name on the building.

At the time of that 2019 vote, the board issued a statement saying “Marshall University will constantly confront and challenge bigotry, intolerance and unwarranted discrimination in all of their manifestations.”

On Tuesday, the board indicated they wanted to properly contextualize Jenkins’ place in history while searching for another name that was not marred by a racist past.

“Our board reaffirmed that commitment today by voting, not to erase history, but simply to no longer honor a man whose accomplishments do not provide the university with enduring value,” the board said in a statement.

The board said it has also carefully considered the name of every other building on campus and has concluded the removal of Jenkins’ name is “the final step” in an effort to represent the “ideals of equality and justice embodied by Chief Justice John Marshall.”

According to many historians, Marshall himself was opposed to slavery and thought it was “evil.” However, the Supreme Court Justice did own many slaves.

Cicero Fain, a professor of history at the College of Southern Maryland, a Huntington native and the author of Black Huntington: An Appalachian Story, was elated upon learning of the news at Marshall.

“It’s so gratifying as a scholar to kind of have my book as a backdrop. I don’t know how much it was a part of this process,” said Fain, who attended Marshall and later taught history there. “But I’m certainly gratified that my book is part of, I think, a recognition that Black Huntingtonians and Black Appalachians matter.”

Fain’s book details the contributions of Black people in the city, how they solidified a unique cultural identity and pushed for progress in the face of the white status quo. As a Black Huntingtonian himself, he said he always felt as though Jenkins’ name on the building overshadowed the accomplishments of those he has researched.

“I’ve always had this kind of conflicted response and perception of my time there. It was always somewhat impacted by this kind of retrograde attitude that I sense kind of permeated the culture there — and of course, the city and the state,” Fain said. “And so, I’m more than gratified that finally the events of the last couple of months have resulted in folks of conscience making the necessary change to be more inclusive for all folks.”

Fain said he hopes the name change attracts those who have left the area back to Marshall, Huntington and West Virginia.

The name change comes just one day after the Kanawha County Board of Education voted unanimously to change the name of a school on Charleston’s West Side that honors a Confederate General. After hearing from students and members of the community, the school board voted 5-0 Monday to change the name of Stonewall Jackson Middle School.

Last week, the city of Charleston quietly removed a Confederate monument honoring the Kanawha Riflemen.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, more than 20 statues, monuments, markers or other structures honoring the Confederacy can be found across the state of West Virginia.