We call on the State of Wisconsin, the National Cemetery Administration, and the City of Prairie du Chien to remove the Jefferson Davis monument from public immediately.

The largest monument in front of Fort Crawford National Cemetery belongs to Jefferson Davis—Confederate president, traitor to America, and an icon of racism. Why does Wisconsin, a state who fought for the Union, have a monument to a man who took us to war to preserve slavery? 

At age 21, Jefferson Davis came to Wisconsin and spent 3 years overseeing sawmills for the Army. For 120 years this fact was little more than a footnote, until 1953, when a group of white supremacists used it as an excuse to place a monument in his honor.

The Jefferson Davis monument in Prairie du Chien was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, an organization of racist propagandists known for their close allegiance to the Ku Klux Klan. This monument, and hundreds of others like it, were part of a publicity campaign to portray the Confederacy as something other than treasonous and racist. This is not a neutral historical marker—hidden among a list of his ranks and titles, written in bronze, Jefferson Davis is described as a “hero” who, “...served here with distinction.”

This monument is an emblem of racist oppression. It was placed here to immortalize and celebrate hate. It was placed here to marginalize Black Americans. It is the obligation of our elected officials and administrators to remove this divisive symbol from government lands.

Today, America still struggles to fulfill its promise to deliver equality and justice for all. We are once again in conflict over the soul of our nation. Across the country, Confederate symbols are being banned by institutions and Confederate monuments are being moved to museums or destroyed by the people. Now is the time to remove these symbols of hate and subjugation. 

It is an embarrassment that such a monument was ever allowed. When the Confederate government began to fall, it was the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry sent to capture and arrest Jefferson Davis. Do right by these soldiers, and do right by the 12,000 Wisconsinites who died fighting the Confederacy. Do right by hundreds of thousands of Black Wisconsinites. Take down the monument.

We call on the State of Wisconsin, the National Cemetery Administration, and the City of Prairie du Chien to remove the Jefferson Davis monument from public immediately.