July 10, 2020
Chairman Randall Reid-Smith, members of the Capitol Building Commission, and Governor Jim
Justice:
It was reported this week that the members of the Capitol Building Commission met on
Wednesday, July 8, but did not consider or even discuss the removal of the statue memorializing
Confederate general and slaveholder Stonewall Jackson that is displayed on Capitol grounds.
Although state and local governments across the country, including in our own capital city, are
finally taking rightful action to remove statues and monuments that glorify some of the most
shameful periods of our country’s history, the Commission’s reasoning for not addressing the
statue’s continued presence on state grounds is because they had not received any requests to do
so.1
Chairman Reid-Smith and members of the Capitol Building Commission: Consider this a formal
request.
Just yesterday, the Tennessee Capitol Commission voted to remove a bust of Nathan Bedford
Forrest from the state’s capitol building.2 Like the Tennessee Capitol Commission, you have the
authority to act, as the discretion to remove the statue from Capitol grounds lies squarely within
the purview of the Commission. West Virginia law provides:
[T]he Capitol Building Commission has the authority to: review and
approve or reject all plans recommending substantial physical
changes inside or outside the state capitol building or surrounding
complex, including the public meeting rooms, hallways and
grounds, which affect the appearance thereof. The approval of the
commission is mandatory before any contract may be let for work
which constitutes a substantial physical change, or before changes
are started if the work is not done under a contract.3
The Capitol Building Commission has the power to act to remove this symbol of hate from the
grounds of a state building that belongs to all West Virginians. There is no reason to wait. As
you know, meetings may be called at any time by the Chairman or two members of the

1

Phil Kabler, Capitol Building Commission meets, no talk of status of Stonewall Jackson statue,
CHARLESTON GAZETTE-MAIL (July 8, 2020), https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/politics/capitolbuilding-commission-meets-no-talk-on-status-of-stonewall-jackson-statue/article_7cc3d904-3afa-5492a4ab-08131a4cd7d0.html?fbclid=IwAR0xv1rvACpPNQFDbRdmcqXivYCuVVQNYGza_PyptFfZ_OOPLWPN13xHWY.
2

Natalie Allison, Capitol Commission approves moving Nathan Bedford Forrest bust to Tennessee State
Museum (July 9, 2020) https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/09/tennessee-capitolcommission-votes-remove-nathan-bedford-forrest-bust/5380243002/.
3

W. Va. Code § 4-8-1 et seq. (emphasis added).

 Commission.4 The Commission must utilize its statutorily delegated power to remove the statue
now.
Finally, to Governor Justice: You have stated that you do not want any West Virginian to feel
uncomfortable at the capitol.5 As the person empowered to select a majority of the members of
the Commission, we ask that you call for the immediate removal of the statue. Governors in
other states—including Kentucky and North Carolina6—have recognized that “[m]onuments to
white supremacy don’t belong in places of allegiance, and it’s past time that these painful
memorials be moved in a legal, safe way.”7
It may be a small step toward achieving racial justice, but it is a necessary one, Governor Justice.
Join us in our demand for the Commission to immediately call a meeting to act.

Sincerely,
Black Lives Matter: West Virginia
Call to Action for Racial Equality (CARE)
Keep Us Safe WV
State of WV NAACP
NAACP of Charleston
Morgantown/Kingwood Branch of the
NAACP
Our Future WV
Race Matters in West Virginia
Race Matters in Greenbrier Valley
WVU Black Law Students Association
American Civil Liberties Union of West
Virginia
American Civil Liberties Union at WVU
Law
American Friends Service Committee - WV
Asian Pacific Law Student Association at
WVU Law
Democratic Law Caucus at WVU Law

4

W. Va. Code R. § 188-1-3 (emphasis added)

5

See Mistich, supra note 2.

6

Fairness WV
Hispanic Law Student Association at WVU
Law
Mountain State Justice, Inc
National Association of Social Workers,
West Virginia Chapter
National Organization of Women—WV
Chapter
OUTlaw at WVU Law
The Partnership for Furthering Arts and
Education
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic
Summers County Huddle
West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy
WVU Labor Law Society
West Virginia Employment Lawyers Student Chapter
WV Free
WV Working Families Party

Alisha Ebrahimji, Artemis Moshtaghian and Lauren M. Johnson, Confederate Statues are coming down
following George Floyd’s death. Here’s what we know, CNN,
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/09/us/confederate-statues-removed-george-floyd-trnd/index.html.
7

Id.