North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest has requested that a Gov. Charles B. Aycock statue at the U.S. Capitol be replaced by a statue of Rev. Billy Graham.
Forest wrote a letter Tuesday to Stephen T. Ayers, the Architect of the U.S. Capitol, asking for a statue to be dedicated to Graham, whom he called one of North Carolina's favorite sons and a tremendous leader.
The letter reads:
Dear Mr. Ayers,
On February 21, 2018, North Carolina lost one of its favorite sons and the world lost a tremendous leader. Reverend William Franklin “Billy” Graham, Jr., born November 7, 1918 in Charlotte, North Carolina, devoted his life to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and serving others across the globe.
Session Law 2015-269, enacted by our General Assembly April 6, 2015 and signed into law by Governor Pat McCrory, requests the Joint Committee of the Library of Congress to approve North Carolina’s request to replace the statue of Governor Charles B. Aycock in Statuary Hall with a statue of the Reverend Billy Graham.
The Aycock statue currently sits in the crypt area of the U.S. Capitol building.
Graham's death last week at age 99 has led to many around the world coming to the Billy Graham library in Charlotte to pay respects, including former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
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