Monumental moments and more
Historic landmarks in peril; Bridgette Ehly update
Thank you, Marilyn W, attorney-at-law, for a provocative post for the Fastzone.substack blog.
Marilyn submitted today’s article to increase awareness of the movement to erase history in Louisville, which is in fact a national liberal agenda.
Her ‘insider’ insights explain how the Castleman Monument that once stood in the Cherokee Triangle was doomed to storage.
The epitome of ‘second chances’
Have you heard that the Kentucky Supreme Court has agreed to hear a final challenge to the removal of the Castleman Statue from Louisville’s Cherokee Triangle in 2020?
The argument -according to news sources- is that Louisville’s Landmarks Commission had a conflict of interest when it voted to remove the statue. This aspect had been raised in Jefferson Circuit Court by the Friends of Louisville Public Art. The Jefferson Circuit Court dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that there were no facts to support the conflicts of interest claim. The Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld that ruling.
It is amazing to me that it will take three trips to court to determine if the process was flawed. They could have saved money and just dialed my number. Well maybe I am not the one to say if the i’s were dotted and the t’s were crossed. However in my opinion, the process was a mess at the outset and a waste of taxpayer time and money. I am just one Louisville person who actually went to a meeting of the Public Art and Monuments Advisory Committee in 2018. I also read the Committee’s report to the Mayor. So here is a short course on this matter w/ some sports analogy to help you all understand what is happening.
The Public Art and Monuments Advisory Committee
This committee was comprised of seven (7) well-intentioned members. They were charged w/ developing a set of principles for evaluating Louisville’s existing public art and monuments. The Mayor was going to be guided by the Committee’s outline of principles and criteria for making decisions regarding the preservation or removal of artworks and monuments in public spaces.
The committee issued its report to the Mayor on June 30, 2018. The committee did NOT address in its report the controversy surrounding the John Breckinridge Castleman Monument. Punt to the Mayor!
Mayor Greg Fischer
On July 3, 2018, after getting the Committee’s report, the Mayor stated that the Castleman statue is NOT a celebration of slavery or secessionist causes. The Mayor stated: “Clearly it’s NOT a confederate monument… like in some cities with Confederate Generals on a horse w/ their guns facing North.”
On August 8, 2018, the Mayor stated that the Castleman statue represents “racist or bigoted ideology.” He stated that he would pursue its removal w/ the Cherokee Triangle Architectural Review Committee [ARC]. Wait a minute — Isn’t the Mayor now running downfield in the opposite direction??? He’s passing the ball. Read on.
The Cherokee Triangle Architectural Review Committee [ARC]
In January 2019, ARC denied the City of Louisville’s plan to remove the statue. Vote was 3-3. The City of Louisville then planned to appeal to the Landmarks Commission. Is this a lateral pass?
The Historic Landmarks Commission
In May 2019, the Landmarks Commission overruled the Cherokee Triangle Architectural Review Committee [ARC] and ordered the statue removed. Wait for it— Here comes the block.
The Friends of Louisville Public Art [FOLPA]
In June 2019, this group sued to block removal of the statue. The statue had been there for 107 years. Repeat 107 years!!! Doesn’t this make it a protected landmark? [My question, not theirs.]
Jefferson Circuit Court
The referee blocks the FOLPA: Mayor Fischer and crew removed the Castleman Statue at 6 AM— Repeat 6 AM — on 06-08-2020. Well OK, I don’t think the Mayor showed up to get his hands dirty.
So back to my opinion— Did this process lack impartiality? Was it a mess at the start and a waste of taxpayer time and money? You can decide but here is my experience w/ one segment of the process.
The Public Arts and Advisory Committee:
I went to the April 14, 2018, Public Arts and Advisory Committee meeting. It was pouring rain. Meeting to start at 9 am. Oh- the committee forgot to tell the general public that it postponed the start time and that some members could not make the meeting. Then much later, maybe 10:15 (?), we all get chairs and tables set up in a gym. The committee starts talking but you could not hear anything in the gym. But then the gym people say ‘Pardon us but times up.’ The committee agrees that they will move to a smaller room. No can do until those of us on the chairs clean up everything in the gym. Recap: Committee can’t start meeting on time, can’t get all members to attend, can’t get a decent venue established, can’t get decent audio, etc..... but they were well-intentioned.
Once we get into the smaller room, the committee gets rolling again. I get to speak.
Here’s a summary of what I said— it was twofold.
First, regarding the Committee:
I think the lack of clear guidance/ procedure for this committee is part of the cause for public confusion.
I think this committee needs an operating procedure.
You all appear to be wandering,
You appear to be marching around situation ethics.
You are commingling the ‘establishing principle’ initiative with an assessment of Castleman;
Do not commingle the two initiatives.
If you need help drafting principles, I am willing to help you.
I don’t mean to criticize just to ask you to step back and make sure you are on point.
Second, regarding Castleman Statue:
Everyone attaches his/her own meaning to the Castleman monument.
America is the land of second chances.
The President of the United States gave Castleman a second chance w/ a pardon. [He was under a death penalty.]
Castleman gave the remaining years of his life doing good works for the City of Louisville.
This is the statue that represents ‘second chances.‘
At this point, Committee Member, Dr. Clayton, tells me that he was born in 1957, that he knows segregation, that he could not check out a library book when he was younger, and that I need to see ‘whole city values.’
I did not get a chance to dialog w/ Dr. Clayton. I needed to tell him that I was born in 1945, that I was raised in the inner city of Cleveland, Ohio, and my experiences and my emphasis on second chances really represent ‘whole city values.’ Anyone who has been in jail and got out, anyone who has had cancer and got cured— they have been given second chances.
Those people who have been given second chances are all throughout this city. Castleman is their statue representing second chances!
Dr. Clayton told everyone that he saw the Castleman Statue as psychologically detrimental. At that point he was no longer impartial and s/have been removed from this committee. Yes?? No??
So some people say that you should not judge based on one bad experience. Bet me. Just have a bad experience at a restaurant, you have a bad opinion and you never go back!
Did I have a bad experience? Yep. That is why I kept my handwritten notes from that April, 2018 meeting. It’s been four (4) years. I just can’t let this pass w/o comment. Thank you, Fastzone, for letting me express my thoughts.
One more thing:
If I were Mayor and someone vandalized a city landmark, the police would put their respective butts someplace where there are orange jumpsuits and not orange paint used for vandalism. Also, if I were Mayor, I would back the men in blue 100%— But the “If I were Mayor” blog really belongs to someone else.
Watch for the sequel post! \ Link of interest
Fastzone Alert 0002
An update to Fastzone Alert 0001 - Posted today by Bridgette Ehly on Facebook “Bridge for Truth”
Good news! I filed a notice of APPEAL in my quest for a ballot hand count! By the grace of God, I secured an excellent appeals attorney and look forward to eventually having human eyes and hands count the paper ballots in my primary race for state representative, which so far, have only been counted by digital machines. Read more.