KY Panel Votes to Remove Davis Statue from Capitol

A Kentucky commission has voted to take down a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis from the state Capitol.

The panel supported a push from the governor as the country faces protests against police brutality following the deaths of African Americans in encounters with police. The Historic Properties Advisory Commission voted 11-1 Friday to move the 15-foot (4.5-meter) marble statue of Davis to a state historic site in southern Kentucky where the Confederate leader was born.

"Today has been a historic day in the Commonwealth," said Governor Andy Beshear. "Pursuant to my request, the Historic Properties Advisory Commission met and, in a bipartisan vote, voted to remove the Jefferson Davis statue from our Rotunda. It was past time for this vote and for this action. But what it will mean is that we get a little closer to truly being Team Kentucky – that every child who walks into this Capitol feels welcome, and none of them have to look at a symbol and a statue that stands for the enslavement of their ancestors. Today is a move toward showing that everybody is welcome in this building and that our government should work for the betterment of every single Kentuckian – that we have systematic issues that we must address, but that now is the time to truly move forward, to truly make progress and to show that Team Kentucky includes every single Kentuckian."

The decision came two days after another Davis statue was toppled by protesters in Virginia.