Missouri officials adding plaques to Andrew Jackson statues noting he owned slaves, supported Trail of Tears

Officials in Missouri have approved new plaques that will be affixed to statues of Andrew Jackson noting that the former president owned slaves and supported removing Native Americans from their home territories.

Members of the legislature in Jackson County, which was named after the president, passed the resolution with a 6-2 vote on Monday, with one official abstaining. 

The measure approves language to be included on statues of Jackson located outside the Jackson County Courthouse in Kansas City, Mo., and the Historic Truman Courthouse in Independence, Mo.

The plaques note that Jackson was a war hero and the nation’s seventh president but include details about how “Jackson’s ownership of slaves and his support for the Indian Removal Act are part of his history.”

“The Act forced Native Americans from their home territories so that white settlers could live there and triggered the Trail of Tears, a 1,000-mile march resulting in the death of thousands, including an estimated one-quarter of the Cherokee Nation,” the text reads.

“This statue of Jackson reminds us we are on a path that, in the immortal words of Martin Luther King Jr., bends towards justice. In turn we must acknowledge past injustices to help us create a greater nation built upon humane policies to light our way and the way of humanity everywhere.”

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker told local outlet KSHB that her office will pay for the plaque outside the downtown Kansas City courthouse.

“I simply believe this building must stand for fairness. It must stand for pursuit of fairness for everyone who enters it,” she said.

Frank White, the county’s first African American chief executive, objected to the fact that no African Americans or Native Americans were involved in drafting the language. Both Baker and a top aide, Michael Mansur, are both white, The Kansas City Star noted.

“I’m not opposed to the idea. I don’t think this is the way to do it,” White told legislators before the vote. 

Baker said the wording presented to the commission was meant only as a proposal, adding that she would be open to changes.

“This is not meant to be super controversial,” Baker said, according to the Star.