This Monday, a six-story monument of Confederate Civil War General Robert E. Lee, which has been a focal point of racial demonstrations in Richmond, Virginia, will be decommissioned, Reuters reports.
On Sunday, the Commonwealth of Virginia confirmed that the 12-ton bronze monument on Monument Avenue will be removed on Wednesday, and that it would be stored in a secure state-owned storage facility until it is decided what the future of the statue will be.
The scheduled removal of the statue in the capital city comes only days after the Virginia Supreme Court unanimously decided that it should be removed.
Governor Ralph Northam has the authority to remove it since the documents governing its location are obsolete.
Northam, a Democrat, had stated that the monument will be down in June 2020, ten days after a white Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd, a Black man, triggering worldwide demonstrations.
In recent years, statues commemorating luminaries of the pro-slavery Confederate side in the American Civil War have been a focal point for anti-racist rallies.
Nearby people filed lawsuits to stop the removal, claiming that they had a property right to keep the monument in situ and that it should be left alone. The court disagreed, stating that the paperwork governing the site of the monument were obsolete and unenforceable.
Whatever replaces the Lee statue, according to Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, should convey a clear statement that Richmond is no longer the Confederacy’s capital. Our emblems must represent the fact that we are a varied, open, and inviting community.
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