Virginia can remove the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond, the commonwealth’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
The “restrictive covenants” of the 1887 and 1890 deeds that transferred the statue to the commonwealth are no longer applicable, according to the court.
“Those restrictive covenants are unenforceable as contrary to public policy and for being unreasonable because their effect is to compel government speech, by forcing the Commonwealth to express, in perpetuity, a message with which it now disagrees,” the court wrote.
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The statue, a 21-foot effigy of the general standing atop a 40-foot pedestal, became the target of Black Lives Matter supporters following the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.
General Robert E. Lee has stood on his pedestal since the bronze statue was erected in 1890. Now, after more than a year of legal battles, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled in favor of the state clearing the way for its removal. https://t.co/tjIjw0PCuD
— 8News WRIC Richmond (@8NEWS) September 2, 2021
Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam originally ordered it to be removed 10 days after Floyd’s death amid protests in the commonwealth, which were centered on the statue.
While some residents have celebrated the figure as one of the South’s most significant Civil War “heroes,” many residents have labeled the statue as a monument to slavery.
Several lawsuits were filed by Richmond residents who claimed the effigy had a legal basis to remain standing, thus starting the court battle.
The office of state Attorney General Mark Herring argued that a small group of private citizens could not force Virginia to keep a monument that no longer reflects the state’s values.
?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 is an historic day in Virginia. Today, we turn the page to a new chapter in our Commonwealth’s history — one of growth, openness, healing, and hope,” Herring said in a statement following the ruling.
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Richmond removed more than a dozen statues of Confederate leaders in the wake of Floyd’s death.
