A statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, will be taken down on Wednesday following 15 months of demands for removal.
Gov. Ralph Northam announced the removal of the statue in a press release on Monday. The governor revealed that he plans to livestream the event and expects a large in-person audience as well. The statue was set up in Richmond in 1890.
CHARLOTTESVILLE TO TAKE DOWN CONFEDERATE STATUES
“Virginia’s largest monument to the Confederate insurrection will come down this week,” Northam said. “This is an important step in showing who we are and what we value as a commonwealth.”
Weighing in at roughly 24,000 pounds, the statue stands 61 feet tall, with the 21-foot effigy mounted on a 40-foot pedestal.
The decision to dispose of Lee’s statue comes after the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that “restrictive covenants” barring its removal were no longer valid. Northam has campaigned since June 2020 to remove the statue, which came under intense scrutiny following the death of George Floyd. Dozens of statues bearing the likenesses of historical figures have been removed across the country since Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020.
?BREAKING? We have won the case to remove the Robert E. Lee statue from Monument Avenue. The Supreme Court of Virginia has dissolved all injunctions and the statue may now come down. A big win for a more inclusive Commonwealth! pic.twitter.com/Fdtl8wU0YB
— Mark Herring (@MarkHerringVA) September 2, 2021
“Today’s ruling is a tremendous win for the people of Virginia,” Northam said after the court’s decision was announced. “Our public memorials are symbols of who we are and what we value. When we honor leaders who fought to preserve a system that enslaved human beings, we are honoring a lost cause that has burdened Virginia for too many years.”
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The House of Representatives voted last June to remove statues of historical figures who held racist beliefs from the U.S. Capitol.
