University of Texas Announces Plans to Move Confederate Statue

The University of Texas has announced it plans to move the Jefferson Davis statue.  After  backlash from students, UT announced on Thursday that they would be relocating the statue from the campus’ main mall to an American history center on campus.

In a letter to faculty and students, university President Gregory Fenves issued the following statement:

While every historical figure leaves a mixed legacy, I believe Jefferson Davis is in a separate category, and that it is not in the university’s best interest to continue commemorating him on our main mall…other sculptures on the mall depicting Confederate figures, including Robert E. Lee and Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, will stay where they in place.

The current ‘controversy’ surrounding Confederate history began in June when a young racist entered a Charleston, SC church and murdered nine black parishoners.  The day after the shooting, images from the killers Facebook page began circulating in the media, showing him posing with a gun and the Battle Flag of Northern Virginia, often incorrectly referred to as ‘the’ Confederate flag.

Government entities and companies such as Amazon quickly began to remove flags and merchandise depicting the flag amid threats of boycotts and even threats of violence from various groups and entities.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Texan