- By Johnathan Silver American-Statesman Staff
More than 40 state lawmakers support removing a Confederate memorial inside the Capitol that offers a debunked history lesson on the Civil War, even as most state leaders have remained silent on the issue.
State Rep. Eric Johnson, D-Dallas, a candidate for House speaker, has been the leading voice calling for the plaque’s removal. He met privately with Gov. Greg Abbott on the issue in October, but Abbott has said little about the meeting or his views on the plaque.
The American-Statesman contacted all members of the Legislature last week who hadn’t publicly stated a position on the plaque. In total, 38 House members said the plaque should be taken down — 34 Democrats and four Republicans. The Republicans are state Reps. Tony Dale of Cedar Park, Drew Darby of San Angelo and Gary VanDeaver of New Boston, and House Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio, who isn’t seeking re-election.
In the Senate, six Democrats and one Republican, Sen. Van Taylor of Plano, are calling for the plaque’s removal.
Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Houston and most Republican lawmakers, who constitute the majority in the House and Senate, did not respond to requests for their positions.
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A 1959 plaque titled the “Children of the Confederacy Creed” states that members of the Texas division of the organization Children of the Confederacy “pledge ourselves to preserve pure ideals; to honor our veterans; to study and teach the truths of history (one of the most important of which is, that the war between the states was not a rebellion, nor was its underlying cause to sustain slavery), and to always act in a manner that will reflect honor upon our noble and patriotic ancestors.”
Historians say the Southern states seceded over the issue of slavery.
“There’s not much of a historical argument to be made for why the plaque should stay,” Paul Stekler, a public affairs and radio-television-film professor at the University of Texas whose expertise includes Southern politics, told the Statesman. “You’re upholding a historical lie.”
The effort to remove the plaque, one of 20 Confederate symbols in and around the Capitol, arose last year after the deadly white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Va.
Johnson wants the State Preservation Board to remove the plaque, but its chairman, Abbott, has said that because the Legislature authorized the plaque’s installation, lawmakers should be involved in deciding whether to remove it. Joining Johnson’s fight, Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in April to offer an opinion on who has the authority to move the plaque. The preservation board is responsible for maintaining and preserving the Capitol, the Governor’s Mansion, the Texas State Cemetery and other properties.
“In researching its history and throughout the process, there have been more questions than answers,” Abbott spokeswoman Ciara Matthews told The Dallas Morning News in May. “However, because the plaque was put in place by an act of the Texas Legislature, it would seem appropriate that lawmakers play a role in determining its future.”
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Johnson said he would make it an issue during the 2019 legislative session.
“If my colleagues elect me their next speaker and that plaque isn’t already down by the time I’m sworn in, my first motion as a member of the (State Preservation Board) will be to have it removed from the Capitol,” he told the Statesman.
Two other candidates for speaker — Republican Reps. Phil King of Weatherford and Tan Parker of Flower Mound — did not respond to requests for their position on the issue. Republican Rep. John Zerwas of Richmond, the other speaker candidate, told the Statesman he supports removing the plaque if it is found to be inaccurate.
The speaker holds one seat on the preservation board and appoints a member of the House to it. The other members of the board are Patrick, Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, and Alethea Swann Bugg, a citizen appointed by Abbott.
The only lawmaker responding who said the plaque should remain was Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Canton, saying that regardless of the content, the plaque is historical.
“We shouldn’t tear things down that have been there a long time,” he said.
State Rep. James White, R-Hillister, wouldn’t say whether he thought the plaque should stay or go but said the solution should come from the Legislature.
“I want to get the stakeholders around the table in a legislative format,” White said. “I have a lot of respect for the legislative process.”