Confederate Monument (Murray, Kentucky)

Since its installation, the Robert E. Lee monument has gained significant controversy over its highlighting of an American traitor, slaveholder, and racist. Statues, such as this one, that were built far after the end of the Civil War during the period of Jim Crow laws are noted by historians from the American Historical Association as being erected to "intimidate African-Americans politically, as well as isolate them from mainstream public life".[8] Historians also acknowledge, the monuments play a part of the "Lost Cause of the Confederacy" narrative, which downplays or omits the role of slavery in the Civil War, painting it instead as a heroic struggle by an outnumbered army to preserve the Southern way of life.[9] The Robert E. Lee statue in Murray is an example of the statues installed during the peak of the "Lost Cause", when the forces of commercialization had begun to infiltrate the U.D.C. and the United Confederate Veterans (U.C.V.) organizations.[10]

In the wake of the George Floyd protests in June 2020, a call to remove the statue was initially made by Sherman Neal II, a football coach at Murray State University in a letter to Murray Mayor Bob Rogers and other local officials.[11][12][13][14] When asked about this statue, Governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear said, "If it is at a courthouse, it ought to come down. Having a confederate monument on courthouse grounds or in the rotunda is not the right thing."[15][16][17] A number of other prominent local organizations and individuals called for Calloway Court to remove the statue including a unanimous resolution by the Murray City Council,[18][19][20][21] Murray State University,[22][23] Murray Main Street Board of Directors,[24][25] and Ja Morant,[26][27][28][29] among others.

In response to the June 2020 calls for removal, the Mayor of Murray, Bob Rogers, released a statement that the statue was situated on land owned by Calloway County and therefore the City of Murray had no jurisdiction which was confirmed by Judge/Executive of the Calloway County Fiscal Court, Kenny Imes.[30] In its June 2020 meeting, Calloway Court updated its rules as a result of COVID-19 to limit the number of speakers discussing this issue which included Mr. Neal, but afterwards made no decision about whether to keep or remove the statue citing unclear ownership issues.[31] During the July 2020 meeting of the Calloway Court, a proposal was heard from Kevin Elliott of the Murray State University Political Science Department to move the statue to the nearby Confederate cemetery however, the Court instead unanimously voted to keep the statue where it was located.[3] While a number of reasons were provided in a resolution drafted by Calloway County Attorney Bryan Ernstberger, one of the justifications was a claim of statue ownership by the U.D.C. which Ernstberger indicated the Court could not dispute based on minutes from 1916 Calloway Court meeting which indicated the U.D.C. "may be granted the privilege of erecting a monument" on Courthouse grounds.[3][32] However, the minutes from the 1916 Calloway Court meeting also indicate "the location shall be by and with the approval of the Fiscal Court."[3][32] Although not part of the resolution, a voting magistrate of the Calloway Court, Paul Rister, indicated he was basing his vote on a survey where he drove around his district and asked people who were outside their homes their thoughts on the statue resulting in 77% asking for the monument to stay and 23% asking for it to be moved out of a reported 280 surveyed.[33][34][3]

In the two months following the June 2020 calls for removal, a number of protests took place in Murray and Calloway County related to this statue, the killing of George Floyd, and police brutality nationwide.[35][24][25][36] An arrest was made of a man at the protests for allegedly pointing a gun at protesters from his vehicle.[37] Another arrest was made of a man who allegedly rolled down his window and sprayed pepper spray on multiple protesters and five police officers.[37] According to police, the suspect then attempted to drive through the crowd of protesters and officers before being stopped by police.[37] Following the Calloway Court's July 2020 vote to keep the statue on its grounds, a series of protests were held at the statue including both protesters and counter-protesters of the Court's decision.[24][38]