Statue of Thomas Jefferson (Decatur, Georgia)

Last updated

Statue of Thomas Jefferson
Statue of Thomas Jefferson (Decatur, Georgia)
Medium Bronze
Subject Thomas Jefferson
Location Decatur, Georgia, United States
Coordinates 33°46′32″N84°17′48″W / 33.77547°N 84.29661°W / 33.77547; -84.29661

The Thomas Jefferson statue is a bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson which was formerly located on a bench next to the Old DeKalb County Courthouse in Decatur, Georgia. [1] The statue depicts Jefferson writing the United States Declaration of Independence and was donated to the city by a private citizen to honor U.S. senator Paul Coverdell, who died in 2000. [2] Following a rally during the George Floyd protests on June 17, 2020, it was announced that the statue would be removed, citing the fact that Jefferson was a slave-owner who owned over 600 slaves and fathered several children with Sally Hemings, his sister-in-law and a slave he owned. [3] On the morning of June 19, 2020 the statue was removed at the request of the donor "to protect it from damage." [4] This came several days after the removal of the DeKalb County Confederate Monument, an obelisk on the courthouse grounds that honored the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. [2] [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confederate Monument (Murray, Kentucky)</span> United States historic place

The Confederate Monument in Murray is a statue located in the northeast corner of the Calloway County Courthouse in Murray, Kentucky. It commemorates the 800 citizens of the county who served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, and is one of several Confederate monuments in Kentucky featuring Robert E. Lee. There is another one in Bardstown KY. Despite recent controversy, the Calloway County Fiscal Court voted to keep the statue on its grounds in July 2020.

Confederate monuments and memorials in the United States include public displays and symbols of the Confederate States of America (CSA), Confederate leaders, or Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War. Many monuments and memorials have been or will be removed under great controversy. Part of the commemoration of the American Civil War, these symbols include monuments and statues, flags, holidays and other observances, and the names of schools, roads, parks, bridges, buildings, counties, cities, lakes, dams, military bases, and other public structures. In a December 2018 special report, Smithsonian Magazine stated, "over the past ten years, taxpayers have directed at least $40 million to Confederate monuments—statues, homes, parks, museums, libraries, and cemeteries—and to Confederate heritage organizations."

<i>Thomas Jefferson</i> (Bitter) Statue by Karl Bitter

Thomas Jefferson is a 1911 bronze statue of a seated Thomas Jefferson created by Karl Bitter for the Cuyahoga County Courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine Bluff Confederate Monument</span> United States historic place

The Pine Bluff Confederate Monument has long been located in front of the Jefferson County courthouse, at Barraque and Main Streets in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. It depicts a standing Confederate Army soldier, holding a rifle whose butt rests on the ground. The statue, built out of Georgia marble by the McNeel Marble Company, stands on a stone base 15 feet (4.6 m) in height and 10 by 10 feet at the base. It was placed in 1910 by the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

<i>Denton Confederate Soldier Monument</i> Confederate memorial in Denton, Texas, U.S.

The Denton Confederate Soldier Monument was an outdoor Confederate memorial installed in downtown Denton, Texas, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials</span> Ongoing controversy in the United States

More than 160 monuments and memorials to the Confederate States of America and associated figures have been removed from public spaces in the United States, all but five since 2015. Some have been removed by state and local governments; others have been torn down by protestors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests in Richmond, Virginia</span> 2020 civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd

Richmond, Virginia, experienced a series of protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Richmond was the first city in the Southeastern United States to see rioting following Floyd's murder. Richmond, formerly the capital of the short-lived Confederate States of America, saw much arson and vandalism to monuments connected with that polity, particularly along Monument Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests in Virginia</span> Protests in Virginia caused by the murder of George Floyd

This is a list of George Floyd protests in Virginia. Following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer, protests spread from Minneapolis to other parts of the United States, including Virginia. Protests broke out in Richmond on the night of May 28 and spread to over 50 other cities over the following days.

This is a list of George Floyd protests in Alabama, United States. Protests occurred in fourteen various communities in the state.

This is a list of protests in New Mexico related to the murder of George Floyd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests in South Carolina</span> 2020 civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd

This is a list of protests in South Carolina related to the murder of George Floyd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests in Georgia</span> 2020 civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd

A series of George Floyd protests took place in Georgia, United States, following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. 11 consecutive days of protests and rallies occurred in Atlanta through June 8, 2020. Through July 2020, protests occurred in twenty various cities and communities in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests in Tennessee</span> 2020 civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd

The murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, triggered a wave of protests throughout Tennessee in late May and early June 2020. These protests continued throughout the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Actions against memorials in Great Britain during the George Floyd protests</span> Protest-related actions

A number of statues and memorials were the subject of protests and petitions during the George Floyd protests in the United Kingdom in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DeKalb County Confederate Monument</span>

The DeKalb County Confederate Monument is a Confederate memorial that formerly stood in Decatur, Georgia, United States. The 30-foot stone obelisk was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy near the old county courthouse in 1908.

References

  1. Massara, Jim (June 22, 2020). "Thomas Jefferson Statue On Decatur Square Put Into Storage". Patch . Archived from the original on August 27, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  2. 1 2 Capelouto, J. D. (June 23, 2020). "Statue of Thomas Jefferson in downtown Decatur removed". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Cox Enterprises. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Brown, Alex (June 18, 2020). "Thomas Jefferson statue will be moved following calls to remove racist symbols from public spaces". Decaturish. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  4. Whisenhunt, Dan (June 22, 2020). "Thomas Jefferson statue removed from downtown Decatur". Decaturish. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.