2 Arizona Confederate Monuments Removed From State Land

By Ben Giles, Steve Goldstein
Published: Thursday, July 23, 2020 - 7:35am
Updated: Thursday, July 23, 2020 - 11:20am

Audio icon Download mp3 (8.38 MB)

Arizona Confederate Memorial
Mariana Dale/KJZZ
The memorial to Arizona Confederate troops was built in 1961. It was removed from the Arizona Capitol in July 2020.

Two confederate monuments on Arizona state land were removed overnight by the private organization that placed them there several decades ago.

State officials agreed Wednesday to an offer by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, which wanted to relocate the monuments to private property. The group sent a letter to the state on June 30 with the request.

One is a memorial to confederate troops at the Arizona Capitol, built in 1961. The other is a 1943 Jefferson Davis Highway marker along U.S. Route 60 in Gold Canyon.

Protesters have targeted confederate monuments in recent years and called for Arizona to remove them from state land.

In the letter to state officials, the United Daughters of the Confederacy wrote they were concerned the monuments would be vandalized and destroyed. They promised to swiftly remove the monuments at no cost to the state.

Cloves Campbell Jr.’s father fought to get rid of the monuments when he was in the Legislature. The Show spoke with him about his feelings on the removals.

 Jefferson Davis Highway marker
Howard Fischer/Capitol Media Services
The marker for Jefferson Davis Highway sat near U.S. 60 near Gold Canyon.

More Stories From KJZZ

PoliticsThe Show Race + Diversity