Marine Corps Veteran Josh Hicks calls for the removal of Confederate symbols from military bases around the country
Hicks, a former police officer and Democratic candidate for Congress in Kentucky’s upcoming June 23rd primary election, continues to speak out about injustice
LEXINGTON — Josh Hicks, Marine veteran and former police officer running for Congress in KY-6, issued the following statement on the removal of Confederate symbols from military bases around the United States:
“Today, our military leadership is seeking to remove Confederate symbols from military outposts everywhere, and communities all over this country have risen up to demand that the celebration of hate is removed from Capitols around the country. I was proud to advocate for the removal of Confederate statues from Cheapside in Lexington back in 2017. I’m running for Congress because communities deserve representation that cares about them and seeks to heal division, rather than promote it.”
Hicks also shared on social media a video of his advocacy before the Lexington City Council in 2017. Before the City Council, Hicks testified:
“In 1999, I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. And when I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, I raised my right hand, and I swore an oath to protect the Constitution of the United States from all enemies foreign and domestic. And so, as we sit here debating statues, we all need to keep in mind that these statues represent the domestic enemies that I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution from. Now, we can paint them in any light we want, and say that we should make up our minds about what they meant.
But in reality, there were traitorous insurrectionists who sought to subjugate an entire race of people because of the color of their skin. And they felt so strongly that they should be allowed to own another human being that they were willing to throw the Constitution of the United States out the window and join a movement to literally kill their fellow United States citizens — to preserve that right.
Now, we don’t keep statues to those who have made an enemy of the United States. While the Confederates may have been given a pardon, while the Confederates may have been told that their actions would not be held against them, no one made a promise to any Confederate that we would celebrate them in 2017. And we certainly made no promises to put their statutes prominently on a historically relevant park where men and women of color were sold and bought like items. Council members, as you consider what to do with these statues, I want you to carefully consider where the proper place for things that celebrate those who rose up against United States government so that they could maintain the power and own their fellow man.”
Josh Hicks is a Marine Veteran, former police officer, and lawyer challenging 4th-term Republican incumbent Andy Barr. Hicks grew up on a farm in Fleming County, enlisted in the US Marine Corps, served as a police officer with the Maysville Police Department, and graduated from Morehead State University and the University of Kentucky College of Law. He now lives in Lexington with his wife of 20 years and their two children. Photos and more information are available at , or upon request to info@joshhicksforcongress.com.