Vote to remove Maine statue of Supreme Court justice who upheld segregation laws comes next week

AUGUSTA, Maine — The fate of a statue of a Maine-born former Supreme Court chief justice who upheld racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine is expected to be decided next week.

The possible removal of a statue of Melville Fuller, a Maine-educated former Supreme Court chief justice, from the Kennebec County Courthouse lawn will be discussed by Kennebec County commissioners on Feb. 16, according to county administrator Robert Devlin. Commissioners could vote to remove Fuller’s statue that day.

The momentum to remove the statue came from the Maine Supreme Court. Because Fuller presided over the Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896, which institutionalized racial segregation and led to Jim Crow laws, his statue should not stand outside the courthouse, said Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court Acting Chief Justice Andrew Mead in an August letter on behalf of the court to the Kennebec County commissioners.

“Given our commitment to racial justice, we should take every opportunity to examine and re-examine our positions, policies and practices,” Mead wrote.

Read more: https://bangordailynews.com/2021/02/09/politics/vote-to-remove-maine-statue-of-supreme-court-justice-who-upheld-segregation-laws-comes-next-week/