Statue of Sam Davis (Montgomery Bell Academy)

Not to be confused with Sam Davis Statue or Confederate Private Monument.

Statue of Sam Davis
Artist	Alan LeQuire
Year	1999
Medium	Bronze[1]
Subject	Sam Davis
Location	Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Coordinates	36.12856°N 86.8366°W / 36.12856; -86.8366
Owner	Montgomery Bell Academy

A bronze statue of the Confederate soldier Sam Davis was installed in 1999 at Nashville, Tennessee's Montgomery Bell Academy, in the United States.^[2][3] The sculpture was designed by the local artist Alan LeQuire.^[3][1] Davis had been an student at the Western Military Institute, a predecessor of the Montgomery Bell Academy.

History

According to the school's headmaster, the statue was originally installed "because of Sam Davis's pre-Civil War connection to one of MBA's predecessor schools and the attributes of loyalty and friendship associated with his life and story".^[4]

Removal

The statue was removed in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests.^[5][6] The school's headmaster said, "MBA understands the concerns about the Sam Davis statue, and we will remove the statue from the campus within the week... We recognize the ways in which this story and Sam Davis's association with the Confederacy have become increasingly troubling, particularly as perspectives on the past have shifted. We strive to be an inclusive community, not one that either is or is perceived as racist or supportive of values that demean or marginalize others. In that spirit and with that conviction, we will remove the statue."^[7]

In April 2022, officials submitted a petition to remove a different statue of Sam Davis from Nashville's Centennial Park, pending approval by the Tennessee Historical Commission.^[8][9]

See also

• List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests

References

1. "Tommy Owen". data.nashville.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-06-29. Retrieved 2020-06-26. (in XML format)
2. Smith, Debra West (August 19, 2015). Young Heroes of the Confederacy. Pelican Publishing Company. ISBN 9781455616855. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2020 – via Google Books.
3. "Object record: Sam Davis statue". Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
4. "Tennessee school to remove statue of Confederate soldier". AP NEWS. 2020-06-06. Archived from the original on 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
5. "Nashville school pledges to remove statue of confederate soldier from its campus". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on 2022-06-15. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
6. Jorge, Kaylin (June 5, 2020). "Nashville school to remove Confederate soldier Sam Davis statue". WZTV. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
7. "Statue of Confederate soldier to be removed from Montgomery Bell Academy campus". June 5, 2020. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
8. Nashville, Vivian Jones (2022-04-19). "Metro seeks state permission to remove Confederate memorial from Centennial Park". Main Street Nashville. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
9. McFarland, Justin; Jorge, Kaylin (2021-02-04). "Nashville parks seeks state's permission to remove Confederate monument". WZTV. Retrieved 2022-11-18.