The removal of two plaques dedicating the Texas Supreme Court Building to fallen Confederate soldiers may be ruled illegal after a summary judgment hearing today at the Travis County Courthouse.
The two plaques, one displaying the Seal of the Confederacy and the other showing the Confederate flag with a quote from Confederate general Robert E. Lee, were removed in June 1999. The Sons of Confederate Veterans organization filed suit a year later saying that the removal process should have included approval of the Texas Historical Commission, said spokesman Marshall Davis.
"We just want a judge to agree that the state did the wrong thing," Davis said. "Once we have received the summary judgment ruling, we will work to get the plaques restored to the [Texas] Supreme Court Building."
The removal of the plaques is seen as an insult to the fallen Confederate soldiers, because the building was constructed using money from the Texas' Confederate Pension Fund, Davis said.
"We feel it was a slap in the face," Davis said. "Confederate soldiers did not fight in favor of slavery, racism or hatred."
Three years ago, the Texas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People asked then Gov. George W. Bush to have the plaques removed because they were offensive, said Gary Bledsoe, President of Texas chapter of the NAACP.
"I'm hoping that the judge will keep the status quo, so that we can move to being a more united country, not divided," Bledsoe said.
Davis said he believes changing the plaques alters the historical value of the building.
"NAACP says it's offended by the [Confederate] battle flag. But if they're just after the battle flag - only one plaque had the battle flag [on it], but both plaques are gone," Davis said.
Bledsoe said the plaques were offensive not just because of the Confederate flag, but because of the quotation from Robert E. Lee dedicating the plaque.
"I personally think there is no longer a legal obligation for there to be anything on those walls in relation to the Confederacy," Bledsoe said.
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