RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Some General Assembly members say it’s time North Carolina native Rev. Billy Graham is honored with a statue inside the U.S. Capitol. His likeness would replace a statue remembering a former governor with links to the white supremacy movement over a century ago.
Bills filed in the House and Senate last week ask a congressional committee to approve the replacement of the statue of former Gov. Charles Aycock for one of Graham, the Charlotte-born evangelist now living in Montreat.
Each state gets two statues inside Statuary Hall. Federal law allows states to request changes.
Aycock was governor from 1901 to 1905 and a fierce advocate of universal public education. But the Democrat also backed segregation and used racial fears during a campaign against Republicans and populists in the late 1890s.
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