Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is expected to announce the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, Virginia, after a week of demonstrations in the capital city left a row of monuments defaced.
A senior administration official, speaking under condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that Northam will announce the move on Thursday. The plan is to move the statue, which stands at the center of Monument Avenue in Richmond, into storage while plans are made for a new location.
Protests in Richmond and in other cities across the nation began after George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney took the expected announcement a step further on Wednesday when he said he would introduce a city ordinance on July 1 calling for the removal of all confederate monuments on Monument Avenue.
“Richmond is no longer the Capital of the Confederacy — it is filled with diversity and love for all — and we need to demonstrate that,” Stoney said.
Statues for Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Gens. Stonewall Jackson and Jeb Stuart also stand along Monument Avenue. Each of the monuments, which were erected at the turn of the 20th Century, have been targeted by destructive protests in the past. Stoney created a commission in 2018 that last year recommended the removal of the Davis statue and adding historical context to others.
“I appreciate the recommendations of the Monument Avenue Commission – those were the appropriate recommendations at the time,” Stoney said in a statement. “But times have changed, and removing these statues will allow the healing process to begin for so many Black Richmonders and Virginians.”
Robert E. Lee was the commander of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War and surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865 at the Battle of Appomattox Court House.
