Walmart gives $100K to replace home state's Confederate-era statuary
'We want our memories, through our statues, to tell the story of Arkansas'
Arkansas-based Walmart has agreed to put $100,000 toward an effort to replace statues of the state's Confederate-era leaders at the U.S. Capitol with images of two of its most celebrated icons.
The 19th-century figures of Confederate attorney Uriah Rose and former Arkansas Gov. and Sen. James P. Clarke, both of whom gained prominence in the 19th century, would be pulled from the National Statuary Hall Collection to make way for statutes of civil rights leader Daisy Bates and country singer Johnny Cash.
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Walmart's contribution to the Foundation for Arkansas Heritage and History supports an initiative by Gov. Asa Hutchinson and the state legislature, Walmart spokesperson Anne Hatfield told FOX Business. The Bentonville, Arkansas retailing giant is pleased "to help make these new statues a reality," she said.
The Capitol's Statuary Hall Collection features two statues from each state. The figure of Uriah Milton Rose was given to the collection by Arkansas in 1917 while the statue of James Paul Clarke was added in 1921.
Rose, a judge who opposed secession, remained loyal to Arkansas -- which joined the Confederacy -- during the Civil War. Clarke, who entered politics after the war, was known for defending white supremacy and supporting President Theodore Roosevelt on construction of the Panama Canal.
Uriah Milton Rose, James Paul Clarke (National Statuary Hall Collection)
While the replacement effort is occurring as many Civil-war era statues across the United States are torn down amid anti-racism demonstrations following the Minneapolis killing of George Floyd in late May, Hutchinson, a Republican, signed a bill in 2019 authorizing the change.
“We want our memories, through our statues, to tell the story of Arkansas," he said, referring to Bates and Cash. "I believe our story is well represented by these two historic figures.”
Afterward, the state was tasked with raising funds for the new statues either through appropriation or private donation.
Bates was born in Huttig, Arkansas, in 1914, and her mother was killed by three white men when she was only three. As a result, she dedicated her life to fighting racial injustice, according to the Women's National History Museum; her work included mentoring the nine black children who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957.
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Cash, the singer who died in 2003, grew up in Dyess, Arkansas, about 131 miles northeast of Little Rock. The community was “the wellspring from which he drew his inspiration," according to Cash's daughter, Rosanne.
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Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, was founded in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.