UT Removes Jefferson Davis Statue
Lauren McGaughy, Houston Chronicle, August 30, 2015
The University of Texas at Austin on Sunday morning removed a statue of Jefferson Davis from its main mall, over the objections and amid ongoing legal action by Confederate groups.
Students and others cheered as the larger-than-life sized bronze statue came down, just as the campus’ historic clock tower stuck 10:15 a.m. Some even sang a few bars from fictitious band Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.”
The move was made just days after state District Judge Karin Crump shot down an attempt by the Sons of Confederate Veterans to block the statues’ removal. The removal took about an hour and a half; the statue will be refurbished and relocated to the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, also on UT’s campus.
Gregory Vincent, UT’s Vice President for Diversity and Community, called the moment “iconic.”
“It really shows the power of student leadership,” said Vincent, who chaired a student-faculty task force that suggested either removing or altering the statue. {snip}
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A statue of former President Woodrow Wilson will also be removed to maintain symmetry on the mall. The campus has not yet decided where to relocate the Wilson statue. Several other statues, including those of Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Albert Sidney Johnston, Confederate Postmaster General John Reagan and James Hogg, the first native Texan to be elected governor, whose father was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army will remain on the mall.
