SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Illinois officials plan to remove a state Capitol statue of Stephen A. Douglas as part of a national reckoning on race prompted by the police-custody death of George Floyd. Douglas was a political legend and longtime rival of Abraham Lincoln who profited from family-owned slaves. But inside the Capitol is a painting of an 1858 debate with Douglas in which Lincoln disavowed support for Black people’s civil rights. Just as Douglas did a lot of political good for Illinois, Lincoln became president and took action to end slavery. Experts question whether it’s right to remove a memorial to Douglas when Lincoln has racial scars, too.
