One hundred and fifty-five years after Robert E. Lee surrendered, the former capital of the Confederacy is re-examining the painful legacy he publicly memorized on Monument Avenue.
The former capital, Richmond, Virginia, demolished a statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson on Wednesday after Mayor Levar Stoney used emergency powers to order its immediate removal, along with other Confederate statues owned by the city.
Stoney said in a video statement that his order was “to speed up the healing process for the city,” as well as for public safety, after protesters had brought down other statues.
“We have needed to turn this page for decades,” he said.
As part of racial unrest across the country after George Floyd was assassinated by Minneapolis police, the symbols and symbols of the Confederacy have come under attack by local governments and protesters.
In Richmond alone, people have knocked down a statue of Jefferson Davis; he threw Christopher Columbus into a lake; shot down the Howitzer Monument, which featured a Confederate gunner; and tore down a statue of William Carter Wickham, a Confederate general.
Stoney said removing the remaining Confederate statues would take several days, and that they would be kept in storage until the community decides their final destination.
Governor Ralph Northam has ordered the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue on state property in Richmond, but the process has stalled due to several lawsuits, The Associated Press reported.
Stoney, who is black, said Richmond had been burdened with the legacy of the Confederacy since the end of his tenure as his capital city.
“The great burden of that burden has fallen on our residents of color,” he said, adding that “it also placed a burden on all of our brothers and sisters who saw the unfulfilled potential for Richmond to become an international example of diversity, compassionate and inclusive community. “
Although the removal of the Stonewall Jackson statue was suddenly announced, crowds began to form shortly after a crane appeared on the nearby street. After about four hours, the statue finally rose into the air.
“Everyone is like yelling, clapping and yelling,” said Paul Finch, 29, a graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University, who was standing on a friend’s porch overlooking the scene when the process began.
Virginia had more than 220 public monuments to the Confederacy, according to the governor’s office. A state law that went into effect on Wednesday gives local governments the ability to “remove, relocate or contextualize monuments in their communities.”
“These monuments tell a particular version of history that does not include everyone,” Northam said when he signed the legislation in April. “In Virginia, that version of history has received prominence and authority for far too long.”
Ezra Marcus contributed reports from Richmond, Virginia, and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of New York.
