Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam announced his intention to remove the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue in Richmond amid a week of protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
During a Thursday morning press conference in Richmond, Northam implored Virginians to consider how racial minorities might view statues commemorating Confederate generals when visiting the capital city.
“Think about the message this sends to people coming from around the world to visit the capital city of one of the largest states in the country,” Northam said. “Or to young children. What do you say when a six-year-old African American little girl looks you in the eye and says: What does this big statue mean? Why is it here?”
Lee, who was the commander of the Confederate Army, is one of several Confederates who are memorialized on Monument Avenue. Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Confederate Gens. Stonewall Jackson and J.E.B. Stuart also have statues erected in their likeness.
Northam made the announcement, saying the statue will be moved “as soon as possible,” alongside black leaders.
“It’s time to put an end to the lost cause; Richmond is no longer the capital of the Confederacy,” Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said.
Rev. Robert Wright Lee, a fourth-generation descendant of the Confederate general, was also in attendance. “We have created an idol of white supremacy,” he said. “The idols must be torn down.”
The move comes after protests across the country began last week following the emergence of video footage showing a white Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, for approximately eight minutes until he became unresponsive. Floyd was pronounced dead at a hospital. All four officers involved in Floyd’s detainment have been charged with crimes.
Top leaders in the state’s Republican Party rejected the governor’s executive decision and suggested Northam was making the move because of past racial issues.
Last spring, a photo from Northam’s 1984 medical yearbook that showed two men, one wearing Ku Klux Klan garb and another wearing blackface, resurfaced. He initially apologized for the incident but later walked back the admission of guilt. A monthslong investigation could not discern whether it was Northam in the photo despite extensive interviews and months of research. He did, however, admit to having “darkened” his face as part of a Michael Jackson costume for a dance contest that same year.
“The governor’s decision to remove the Lee statue from Monument Avenue is not in the best interests of Virginia. Attempts to eradicate instead of contextualizing history invariably fail,” said a statement signed by Virginia Senate Minority Leader Thomas Norment. “And because of this governor’s personal history, the motivations of this decision will always be suspect. Like Sen. Chase’s idiotic, inappropriate, and inflammatory response, his decision is more likely to further divide, not unite, Virginians.”
The Lee statue and other Confederate monuments that stand along the major Richmond thoroughfare have long been the scene of protests in which they have been defaced. Northam said he expects backlash but that it is time to discuss Virginia’s history “in an honest way.”
“I know some will protest,” Northam said Thursday. “Some will say Lee was an honorable man. I know many people will be angry. But my friends, I believe in a Virginia that studies its past in an honest way. I believe that when we learn more, we can do more. And I believe that when we learn more — when we take that honest look at our past — we must do more than just talk about the future.”
The monuments were erected by the commonwealth at the turn of the 20th century and are the center of a heated debate over their historical importance and location along Richmond’s most heralded strip.
