South Carolina removed the Confederate battle flag from its statehouse grounds, and Mississippi continues to debate the use of the emblem on its banner. Kentucky, however, decided on Wednesday not to remove a statue of Jefferson Davis from its Capitol.

The likeness of the first and only president of the Confederate States of America juxtaposes well with an imposing statue of fellow Kentucky native Abraham Lincoln, a local commission ruled, according to The Associated Press. The dual display serves as a testimony to the state's divisive history during and after the Civil War, the panel said.

The Historic Properties Advisory Commission voted 7-2 to keep the statue in the Capitol's rotunda. The panel -- which, by state law, has final authority over what is shown in the building -- also decided an "educational context" would be added to the statue. Commission chairman Steve Collins underlined the unique setting ahead of the commission's vote.

"I bet we are the only Capitol rotunda in United States where you can walk in to see a statue of Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln in that proximity," Collins noted. "That speaks volumes about the divide that Kentucky felt during the Civil War. Removing the statue of Jefferson Davis makes it impossible for us to tell that story the way that we can tell it with both statues there."

The commission had received more than 3,000 comments on the issue Kentucky residents sent in via email, telephone and mail, the State Journal reported. Out of those comments, 1,800 supported keeping Davis in the Rotunda, and 1,225 supported its removal.

Across the South, the debate about Confederate symbolism had picked up following the June 17 church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina. The alleged perpetrator had been shown in photographs using the battle emblem.

Davis, who before the secession had served as a U.S. secretary of war and U.S. senator, was born in 1808 in Christian County, Kentucky, and died in 1889 in New Orleans.