The Denton County Democratic Party (DCDP) is excited that the Denton County Commissioners Court voted today, June 9, 2020, to remove the 12-foot Confederate statue that sat on the Denton County Courthouse lawn since 1918.

Denton County NAACP president Willie Hudspeth, a Vietnam veteran, appeared every Tuesday since 2001 for the commissioners’ court meeting to urge the court to remove the statue to no avail.

The Denton County Commissioners Court countered Hudspeth’s protests by saying that the Confederate statue had been designated a State Archeological Site (SAL) in 1981 and as such was protected by the Antiquities Code of Texas.

In response to the urgings of Hudspeth and others like Dentonites Against Racist Traditions the commissioners’ court finally formed the Denton County Confederate Memorial Advisory Committee in 2017.

Democratic candidates for Denton County Commissioners Court in the 2020 election — Sandy Swan of Precinct 1 and Delia Parker-Mims of Precinct 3 — both advocated for the removal of the Confederate statue from the courthouse lawn.