Racist Confederate Plaque Needs a Forever Home

Now that state officials have finally removed the historically mendacious "Children of the Confederacy Creed" plaque that's hung in the Capitol since 1959, they need to figure out what to do with it. Apparently, chucking the racist relic in the trash is not one of the options. ("False Confederate Capitol Plaque Removed – And It Only Took Six Decades!" Jan. 14.) A Jan. 25 hearing of the State Preservation Board, which manages the Capitol and the Bullock Museum, offered little guidance on next steps.

Earlier this month, the SPB – which includes Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen – unanimously voted to do away with the controversial artifact, after having spent several years pretending they might not have the authority to do so. The Big Three showed up in person for that five-minute meeting, but then went back to dodging the issue and sending proxies last week. About 20 witnesses testified at the hearing, most with a bone to pick with the decision to remove the plaque, which states that "the War Between the States was not a rebellion, nor was its underlying cause to sustain slavery." (The state's 1861 secession declaration states otherwise.)

Martha Hartzog with the Texas chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy asked the SPB to hand the plaque over: "Because this plaque was not gifted to the state of Texas, we are asking that the plaque be returned to [us], as we are the parent organization of Children of the Confederacy." Others warned the plaque removal was tantamount to erasing history, the usual refrain of the "Heritage-Not-Hate" brigades. "It's part of our history, no matter how you want to teach your child or teach future generations from it. History isn't always glorious. It can be ugly and violent at times, but it's still our history," said Brandon Burkhart, president of This Is Texas Freedom Force, a nonprofit dedicated to, among other goals, making sure "left-wing groups don't get out of line."

Democratic state Rep. Eric Johnson of Dallas, who spearheaded the push to remove the plaque, previously told the SPB he'd prefer to see it in either a "museum or landfill." The board is storing the plaque among the other artifacts in the Capitol collections for the time being. If you have an opinion on where it should go next, you're in luck; the SPB is taking public comment for the next 90 days. Email [email protected] or send snail mail to P.O. Box 13286, Austin, Texas 78711.