Statue of former governor returning to University of Texas after being taken down last year

A statue of a segregationist politician is returning to the University of Texas campus in Austin less than two years after it was removed.

The statue of James Hogg, the son of a Confederate general, will be relocated to another part of campus later this month, University of Texas president Gregory Fenves announced in a letter to the community Thursday.

{mosads}James Hogg was governor of Texas from 1891 to 1895; while serving in that role signed the state’s first Jim Crow bill into law, according to the Dallas News.

When the statue was first removed from the south mall on campus in August of 2017, along with three statues of confederate generals, Fenves wrote that “events make it clear, now more than ever, that Confederate monuments have become symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism.”

UT spokesman J.B. Bird told the Dallas News that “there are definitely parts of [Hogg’s] history that are disturbing and there are parts worth celebrating.” 

Fenves said when the statue was originally removed that it was always the intention that Hogg’s statue would come back to campus, albeit in a different location.

The other three monuments, including one of Robert E. Lee, all are being housed in the school’s Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

In the letter sent out Thursday, Fenves wrote that Hogg has a “complicated and nuanced legacy,” but defended his positives, including Hogg’s advocacy for public and higher education.

“Governor Hogg and his descendants made many contributions to UT Austin and to the state. His statue has been part of the campus for more than 80 years and will continue to represent the legacy of the Hogg family in its new location,” Fenves wrote.

Note: This story has been updated to more accurately describe Hogg.