One of my local Twitter and Bluesky mutuals is visiting the U.S. Capitol today, on the third anniversary of the January 6 insurrection and attempted takeover. She posted this on Twitter:
Visited the Capitol today on the Jan 6 anniversary. Shocked to see Mississippi wastes a statue on Jefferson Davis. That's a choice.
And she posted this photo on Bluesky:
A commenter on Twitter replied,
The statue dates to 1931. Governor Bilbo's second term was 1928-1932. I would bet these two facts are connected.
My ignorance of Mississippi is pretty broad and deep; I've never heard of Governor Theodore Bilbo until now. A quick peek at his Wikipedia page suggests the respondent is heading in the right direction. Among other claims to racist fame, Bilbo was author of a work called "Take Your Choice: Separation or Mongrelization." (He was also known as a Progressive in his first term as governor, enacting compulsory education, public health actions, and building infrastructure.)
Looking at various articles about how the Jefferson Davis statue came to be placed in the Capitol in 1931 specifically, I don't see mention of Governor Bilbo at the ceremony when it was unveiled, and in fact the U.S. Senator who was his rival is the one who spoke.
But whoever was behind the statue's installation, the powerful among white Mississippi have been standing strong against calls to remove it, which began in 2015 after the mass killing at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
It was still there on January 6, 2001 for the insurrectionists to see, and it's still there today.
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