CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Rev. Billy Graham had to die before his statue could be placed in the U.S. Capitol, but on the fifth anniversary of his death his memorial still hasn’t made it into the Statuary Hall collection.
The North Carolina General Assembly approved in 2015 a statue of Graham to replace, in the Capitol, one of Charles Aycock, a former North Carolina governor and a known white supremacist.
Graham, born to dairy farmers near Charlotte, made it his mission to reach with the gospel as many people as he could — including presidents of both parties. His sermons reached 200 countries before his death, at 99, in Montreat.
But now, five years to the day after Graham’s death, Aycock’s statue remains and Graham’s remains unapproved by the joint committee on the Library of Congress.
Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Republican from Lincoln County, introduced a resolution Friday that if passed could lead to decisions about Graham’s statue taking place within 90 days after the bill’s approval.
McHenry said it’s a fitting honor. “Reverend Billy Graham was not only one of North Carolina’s finest sons, but also one of our nation’s great spiritual leaders,” he said in a news release. “Having counseled countless American leaders including thirteen presidents, he will forever be remembered as America’s pastor.”
The 100-statue collection honors two people from each state.
North Carolina’s statues honor the lives of Aycock and Zebulon Vance, a former governor, senator and Confederate officer. Vance’s statue is located in Statuary Hall near the House chamber, and Aycock is in the Capitol’s Crypt, where one statue from each the 13 colonies stand.
Aycock was known for public school reform, but his reputation was tarnished by his outspoken racism and his work to disenfranchise Black voters and keep segregation.
When state lawmakers voted in 2015, to replace Aycock in the Capitol, former Rep. Charles Jeter told McClatchy they needed to “make sure that the people who represent North Carolina do so with their best foot forward.”
Graham is sometimes criticized for not doing enough for the civil rights movement, and a reader of The Charlotte Observer asked lawmakers to withdraw their bid for a statue of Graham because his religion does not represent all faiths in North Carolina.
The General Assembly sent the joint committee a proposed statue design in August 2020, but did not get approval for more than a year. There are three more steps that need to be completed for the statue to appear in the Capitol.
If McHenry’s resolution passes it mandates that the joint committee approve or deny the full-sized clay model of Graham and pedestal design within 30 days, approve or deny the completed statue within 30 days and determine the permanent display location within 30 days of the approval of the completed statue.
Reps. Don Davis, Greg Murphy, Virginia Foxx, David Rouzer, Dan Bishop, Richard Hudson and Chuck Edwards cosponsored the resolution. Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd introduced a companion bill in the Senate.
“His lifelong commitment to preaching the Gospel, his fight for civil rights, his opposition to communism, and his spiritual guidance provided hope to hundreds of millions,” said Budd, a Republican from Davie County. “He was the first private citizen from North Carolina to lie in honor in the United States Capitol and his likeness should stand in the U.S. Capitol forever. After years of bureaucratic delay, it’s time to get this done.”
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