Posted on December 29, 2006

UT To Explore Fate Of Statues That Honor The Confederacy

AP, Dec. 27, 2006

University of Texas President William Powers Jr. said he plans to form an advisory committee to study whether something should be done about the numerous campus statues honoring the Confederacy.

The statues have in recent history become a topic of debate among students, professors and administrators.

They include four bronze figures on the South Mall honoring Confederate leaders such as Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States, and Gen. Robert E. Lee.

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Some critics have proposed removing the Davis and Lee statues and placing them in a museum.

Statuary on the UT campus has grown more diverse over the years, partly as a result of student-led efforts. A student tax raised funds to install a statue of Martin Luther King Jr., the black civil rights leader, in 1999.