Calls made for Walter Walker statue to be removed

Grand Junction is grappling with the complicated history of one of its most lauded historical figures, Walter Walker, a man who has a statue on Main Street, but was also responsible for bringing the Ku Klux Klan to the city before turning against it.

There have been calls to remove the statue on social media in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, by a Minneapolis police officer. CMU Friday said it would take Walker’s name off its soccer and lacrosse stadium. Walker was a former publisher of the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

Antonio Clark, a Grand Junction resident and member of the group Right and Wrong (RAW), said knowing the history of the town was important as local groups are working to change it. He said his group has not asked for the statue to be removed, but said they are discussing it.

“It just lets me know, I wouldn’t say where the city stands currently, but the history of this town, knowing where it stood at one point in time,” Clark said. “It’s definitely disheartening, but I think it is important for us to know if we’re going to change this city we have to know the roots of it and how it came to be.”

Read more: https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/calls-made-for-walter-walker-statue-to-be-removed/article_e78cbeb2-ab37-11ea-b459-73711277e1f8.html