A panel of historic properties advisers in Kentucky has recommended removing a plaque from a statue of Jefferson Davis that identifies the only president of the Confederacy as a "patriot, hero, statesman."
The statue sits in the rotunda of the Kentucky Capitol, just behind a statue of former President Abraham Lincoln. Both Lincoln and Davis were born in Kentucky.
Black leaders have called for the removal of the statue. Their requests gained momentum after the racially-motivated killings of nine people at a South Carolina church in 2015 and the recent violent protests at a white supremacist rally in Virginia.
The statues are governed by the state Historic Properties Advisory Commission. A committee recommended Thursday to remove the plaque from the Davis statue. The full commission is expected to vote on the recommendation Thursday afternoon.
Update (1:30 p.m.): The commission did not have a quorum today, so a special meeting has been scheduled for Oct. 24.
