Friday, May 17, 2024
Following a lengthy discussion and varying opinions from several Hood County residents, the Hood County Commissioners Court approved the placement of the “Black Star” statue, during its bimonthly meeting on Aug. 8.
The bronze statue was donated to the county by the Kenneth Hill Foundation and is set to be placed on the northeast corner of the Hood County Courthouse on Friday, Sept. 8.
Although the donated statue was previously accepted by the Hood County Commissioners Court during the bimonthly meeting on Nov. 29, 2022, the location of the statue was not properly agreed upon, spurring Precinct 4 Commissioner Dave Eagle to place it back on the agenda to clear up any confusion.
"I went back and reviewed the video of the motion, and it was unclear,” Eagle said at the meeting. “The first statue, the horse and the mountain lion, it was clear for that to go on the southeast corner, but it wasn't clear in my opinion of the other statue, and so I put it back on here to clarify because I also received several calls from several people — many of them are my constituents — that have voiced their opinion.”
Hood County Judge Ron Massingill responded to Eagle, explaining that the motion stated that the statue would be “placed on the courthouse lawn,” and how he didn’t see how that could’ve been made clearer.
“It wasn't actually decided at that time where it would be placed, but a lot of locations were looked at and all in Hood County, the city park and a bunch of other places, and it was decided that the best place would be on the (courthouse) lawn," Massingill said. “It's a beautiful foundation and it's going to be a great benefit to all the people of Hood County.”
However, many residents had some concerns regarding the "Black Star” statue, as it refers to a Native American medicine woman who passed away in 2007.
The Hood County Commissioners Court listened to 14 speakers who signed up to voice their opinion on the controversial subject.
Eight speakers were completely in agreement of the statue, calling it “part of our history,” “heritage,” and “art,” as well as how the statue honors the individual person, and “not their beliefs.”
Hood County Historical Commission Secretary Christy Massey also spoke in favor of the statue.
“The history of this county may not be acceptable to everybody,” she said. “They may try to change it or rewrite it, but the history of this county is what it is. The good Lord above has watched it all and the Hood County Historical Commission is OK with the ‘Black Star’ statue and with where it's gonna be placed.”
On the opposing side, speakers voiced concerns regarding the “shaman” as a “witch,” and how we shouldn’t “desecrate the heart of Granbury.”
Additionally, many community members were on board with the statue, calling it a “great gift,” but preferred it to be placed somewhere else in the county, with some arguing that they didn’t want the courthouse to become more “cluttered.”
A filmmaker who is not a Hood County resident also spoke against the statue being placed on the courthouse lawn as it would be hard to cover up during future filming and how the courthouse is a more appropriate location for “the generals,” than a medicine woman.
Jeff Farris, CEO of the Kenneth Hill Foundation, also spoke during the meeting regarding the “Black Star” donation in honor of the late Ken Hill, who passed away in November 2020.
"As a representative of Ken, I worked for him for 28 years,” Farris explained. “Following his death, I learned I was named the executor of his estate, and so with that responsibility, I was charged with overseeing how his estate was dispersed. Part of his company's possessions and foundation they set up included these statues. His intent was to leave them on Comanche Peak, but now it's private property. I did have concern about the movement that I've seen across the United States for Civil War heroes, and other very recognized honorable people who have statutes made in their image being torn down, so one of the reasons I requested we put the statutes on the square was (because) having a square scene is more of a historical representation of Hood County. It really honors our community, the county that Ken loved, and the city of which he was a mayor, and a civic leader.”
Farris added that his intent to have the statue placed on the courthouse had “nothing to do with Black Star being an Indian shaman.”
"I met Black Star twice; she never told me she was a shaman,” he said. “As far as how the statues are labeled, I don't have a passion that it says, ‘Black Star, who was an Indian shaman.’ She could be a medicine woman, or she could just be a recognized representative of a Comanche woman. If indeed you decide you don't want to put the statue there because it's a quote, ‘pagan symbol’ then I've requested you consider returning it back to the Ken Hill Foundation, and we can make arrangements to place it somewhere else."
Following the conclusion of all 14 speakers, Eagle stated that he was “really glad” that the location of the statue came back on the agenda.
"I heard some very good information today from all parties,” he said. “I understand the conflict and I can understand everybody's argument and they're great arguments. This is part of our history.”
Precinct 3 Commissioner Jack Wilson then made a motion to approve the placement of the “Black Star” on the courthouse square where it had been previously acknowledged. Massingill seconded the motion.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Nannette Samuelson then stated that learning that Hill’s “original intent” was for the statue to be placed on Comanche Peak was “important” to her.
Kevin Andrews, Precinct 1 commissioner, also expressed how conflicted he was on approving the location of the statue as he agreed with a speaker’s concern of “how much more can be put on the courthouse square.”
Andrews then posed a question to Farris regarding what the Ken Hill Foundation would do if the commissioners did not put the statue on the square.
Farris reiterated that if the commissioners voted to not have “Black Star” put on the square because she’s seen “as some evil being,” then he would think the commissioners wouldn’t want to place it anywhere in the county, and they should just return the statue.
Andrews replied that “that wasn’t his position at all.”
Farris also brought up a “petty problem,” stating that the foundation has paid for everything, so if the commissioners decided to relocate “Black Star” somewhere else, he recommended that they pay for the relocation.
Eagle then stated that he knew there was a motion and a second on the table but that he would prefer to have more time to decide because he was also “conflicted.”
As several commissioners were leery on voting, Massingill asked for clarification from Ferris when the statue was set to be delivered. Ferris confirmed the date of Friday, Sept. 8.
“The cranes have been ordered, permits have been issued, so there's a lot going on — not that I can speak to everything that goes on — but it's not just as simple as showing up and rolling it off right away,” Farris said.
Massingill stated that he believes Black Star is not evil, or a witch, just that she was a medicine woman who healed people.
"We've heard from the historical commission that they have no problem with it,” he said. “It has been investigated since November 2022 and all the time and all the effort has gone into it to just keep kicking this can down the court. We heard from 14 people today, so I’d like to go ahead and call for a vote on the motion. If it fails, it fails and if it passes, it passes. Let's be done with it. Mr. Harris is certainly entitled to a decision on this thing.”
Massingill then took the motion to a vote, with Wilson, Andrews, and Massingill voting “yes,” Samuelson voting “no” with the argument of “needing more time,” and Eagle abstaining from voting.
