The bronze statue of General Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Confederate monument that helped spark a violent demonstration by white supremacists in 2017, was removed from its pedestal on Saturday, July 10.
Work to remove the statue of General Lee, which was located in Market Street Park, came after the Charlottesville City Council approved its removal on June 7, 2021, the city said in a statement.
"Taking down this statue is a small step toward helping Charlottesville, Virginia, and the United States deal with the sin of being willing to destroy black people for financial gain," Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker told journalists and observers at a speech near the monument, as reported by NBC News.
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The statue of another Confederate general is also expected to be lowered: Thomas J. 'Stonewall' Jackson.
On April 1, 2021, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the city of Charlottesville could remove both monuments.
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The removal of the statue of Lee, who was a commander of the Confederate army during the Civil War, follows years of legal fighting.
The monument became a symbolic site for white supremacists and other racist groups, whose protests culminated in the deadly 'Unite the Right' rally in August 2017, in which
Heather Heyer, a protester opposed to white nationalism, was killed.
In March 2019, James Alex Fields Jr pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges, admitting that he intentionally sped his car into a crowd of protesters protesting in Charlottesville against racism during the supremacist march, killing Heather Heyer. and injuring dozens of people.
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The 2017 march was one of the largest public demonstrations of white nationalism in recent years, bringing together hundreds of neo-Nazis, nationalist organizations and members of the Ku Klux Klan.
Tensions escalated after then-president Donald Trump initially refused to condemn white nationalists, saying "there was blame on both sides," also referring to those who came to protest against racism.
On "both sides there are good people," he said.
At the time, Trump criticized the growing movement in the country to remove statues and monuments from the Confederate side of the Civil War (1861-1865).
“It is sad to see the history and culture of our great country shattered through the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments,” he wrote on Twitter on August 17, 2017.
The statue of Robert E. Lee was removed from its pedestal in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday, July 10, 2021. In August 2017, it was covered with plastic to honor the memory of Heather Heyer, who was killed while protesting against white nationalists in the city.
Steve Helber / AP
“You cannot change history, but you can learn from it.
Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson - Who's Next, Washington, Jefferson?
So stupid! ”Added the then president.
Confederate General Robert E. Lee
is considered a symbol of the defense of slavery and racism
.
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The city of Charlottesville opened the door to museums and historical societies interested in acquiring the statues for relocation.
"The Charlottesville city manager has received ten responses so far, six out of state and four in state, which are under review," the official statement said.
The Jackson statue was erected in 1921 and the Lee statue was first placed in 1924. They will now be stored until the city council decides on their fate.