Democrat Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Richmond Mayor Lemar Stoney announced the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue on Richmond’s Monument Avenue. The statue was erected over a century ago. Fueled by escalating protests, Lee isn’t the only one being targeted. Officials subsequently added that all Confederate statues in the state capitol will be removed.
Protests Spark Confederate Statue Debate In Richmond
This decision by officials comes amidst widespread national protests and rioting over the death of George Floyd. The 46-year-old father asphyxiated when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes. Four officers have subsequently been arrested and charged in Floyd’s death.
The ongoing protests prompted discussions over the removal of Confederate statues.
Not just the Robert E Lee statue coming down along Richmond’s Monument Row, ALL Confederate statues under the city’s jurisdiction will come down per Richmond Mayor and VA Governor pic.twitter.com/Moaw1Q8wJT
— Steve Chenevey FOX5 (@stevechenevey) June 4, 2020
This prominent Robert E. Lee statue has served as a monument to the man who led confederate forces against the Union. But, it will be moved at the very least.
Northam says it will be removed and put in storage “as soon as possible.” This statue was erected in 1890, twenty five years after the Civil War ended.
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Robert E. Lee Statue Defaced During Riots
Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy. The City has been targeted by rioters who defaced the Lee statue. Some of the graffiti on the statue reads “end police brutality” and “stop white supremacy.”
Previous protests have led to the removal of Confederate statues, but this Robert E. Lee statue has been spared – until now.
Protesters believe these statues are a tribute to the South’s history of slavery. While others see the removal of these Confederate statues as erasing that State and this country’s history.
Mayor @LevarStoney says “It’s time to put an end to the lost cause. Richmond is no longer the capital of the Confederacy… It’s time to remove barriers that hinder the dreams of black children in our community.”
📸 credit: Jordan Vance at the Robert E. Lee Statue. pic.twitter.com/ZZwa3CcpxY
— Sierra Fox (@thesierrafox) June 4, 2020
Democrat Virginia Governor Northam’s History
Many perceive this move to be orchestrated by Governor Northam to clean up his own reputation.
Northam has had some recent racist issues in his past. A scandal last year exposed the Democrat for wearing either a KKK robe or blackface in his college yearbook.
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NEW – @GovernorVA Ralph Northam announces plans to remove the Robert E. Lee statue along Richmond’s Monument Avenue "as soon as possible."
"We're taking it down," he says, adding that he's directing the Department of General Services to remove it and put it into storage
— Amanda Golden (@amandawgolden) June 4, 2020
The Robert E. Lee statue is property of the State of Virginia while the other statues in Richmond belong to the city.
Mayor Stoney has decided that confederate statues no longer belong in the former Confederate capital.
This decisions is angering people who want to retain their history. There is a concern that if history is erased, it will be forgotten. And a forgotten history sometimes repeats itself.
Sad to see history just being wiped out out in front of us. Our Virginia mayor’s and governor have failed us.
— Anthony Chromehounds (@IzedDemon) June 4, 2020
Founding Father Statues
There have been pushes in the past by liberals to remove statues to Founding Fathers of our country because they owned slaved or permitted slavery to occur.
Judging people by the expectations of today isn’t a realistic expectation. These men had their faults, as we all do, but it was a different era.
All the men who came before played a role in helping to establish our great country. Good and bad, there is much we can learn from those who came before.