In early August, Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher made a decision about the John Breckinridge Castleman statue in Cherokee Triangle.
I am announcing that the city will be moving the Castleman & Prentice statues. My decision is based on the findings of our Public Art & Monuments Advisory Committee — Louisville must not maintain statues that serve as validating symbols for racist or bigoted ideology. 1/8
— Mayor Greg Fischer (@louisvillemayor) August 8, 2018
Debate about the Castleman monument and other controversial works of art was sparked last August when the Castleman statue was vandalized with paint. This happened a day after violence erupted at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Following the deadly rally, cities around the country — including Lexington — moved swiftly to relocate their Confederate monuments.
Louisville did not act so quickly; we had nearly a year of committee meetings and public comments.
Now, the statue will be moved. And the conversation is moving ahead, too, to the next question: What should replace it?
We asked WFPL listeners what you thought should go in the statue's place, and we'll hear some of those answers on today's show, with arts reporter Ashlie Stevens.
(Oh! And since you asked, yes, this is pledge drive week! Everything we do at WFPL is only possible because of listener support and that includes Recut. To donate, click here! And thanks!)