Confederate Heirs Fight for Plaques Return to the Capitol
BY Shelley Kofler

WFAA-TV

Visitors to the state Capitol can't miss the many tributes to Texans who fought for the confederacy.  Three statues commemorating the valor of southern soldiers tower over the grounds.  A portrait of Confederate President Jefferson Davis hangs at the front of the Senate.

The Texas NAACP would like to eliminate all confederate displays from state property.  "We can't hide from the fact the confederacy was fighting to maintain slavery," NAACP president Gary Bledsoe said.

In 2000, when Gov. George Bush was running for president, he succeeded in removing two, but the Sons of Confederate Veterans have petitioned a court to put them back on display.

The bronze plaques are stored among 360,000 boxes of state documents.  One bears the confederate flag and a quote from general Robert E Lee.  The other includes the Confederate seal and is dedicated to Lee's men.

The plaques used to hang in the lobby of the supreme court building.  They were replaced by two others, one of which still mentions the confederacy.

"It does not look right when you walk into a supreme court building and see a plaque with a Confederate symbol and another with a quote from General Lee," Bledsoe said.  "I think it just sends chills through any minority person who is trying to seek justice in this court."

Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson's great-grandfather fought for the Confederacy.  He's a member of the group that wants the plaques returned to the court building.  Patterson said the capitol should include more monuments to people of color, not fewer confederate ones.

Bledsoe argued that Confederate symbols are a sign of fear and violence for many minorities.  He hopes the plaques remain crated and hidden.

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