The Denton County Democratic Party (DCDP) is excited that the Denton County Commissioners Court voted today, June 9, 2020, to remove the 12-foot Confederate statue that sat on the Denton County Courthouse lawn since 1918.
Denton County NAACP president Willie Hudspeth, a Vietnam veteran, appeared every Tuesday since 2001 for the commissioners’ court meeting to urge the court to remove the statue to no avail.
DCDP chair Dr. Angie Cadena responded, “Finally, that statue is being moved! Thank you to all the allies who joined Willie Hudspeth’s cause.”
The United Daughters of the Confederacy and The Texas United Confederate Veterans erected the statue of a Confederate soldier for $5,000. During her studies, Denton scholar and activist Jessica Luther Rummel uncovered evidence that the Ku Klux Klan supported the statue’s presence.
The Denton County Commissioners Court countered Hudspeth’s protests by saying that the Confederate statue had been designated a State Archeological Site (SAL) in 1981 and as such was protected by the Antiquities Code of Texas. The statue was also registered as a Texas Historical Monument with the Texas Historical Commission.
In response to the urgings of Hudspeth and others like Dentonites Against Racist Traditions the commissioners’ court finally formed the Denton County Confederate Memorial Advisory Committee in 2017. In 2019, the committee advised against removing the statue, instead recommending the addition of historical context about slavery.
Democratic candidates for Denton County Commissioners Court in the 2020 election — Sandy Swan of Precinct 1 and Delia Parker-Mims of Precinct 3 — both advocated for the removal of the Confederate statue from the courthouse lawn.
The Denton County Democratic Party has the goal of promoting Democratic ideals and values within our communities through grassroots organization and education.
