Lee off the giant pedestal where it has towered over Virginia's capital city for more than a century.
The piece, one of America's largest monuments to the Confederacy, was lifted away just before 9 a.m. as one of the construction workers who helped strap harnesses to Lee and his horse lifted his arms in the air and counted down, "Three, two, one!" to jubilant shouts from a crowd of hundreds. Gov. Ralph Northam ordered the statue taken down last summer, citing the pain felt across the country over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck. But until a recent court ruling cleared the way, Northam's plans had been tied up in litigation.
"This is a historic moment for the city of Richmond. The city, the community at large is saying that we're not going to stand for these symbols of hate in our city anymore. And it was important for me to be here to see this historic moment," said Rachel Smucker, 28, a Richmond resident who was at the viewing site early Wednesday with her sister.
"We put things on pedestals when we want people to look up," Northam said in June 2020 when he announced the removal plan. "Think about the message that this sends to people coming from around the world to visit the capital city of one of the largest states in our country. Or to young children." A previous wave of resistance to the statues came in 2017 when a rally of white supremacists in the city of Charlottesville erupted into violence. Other Confederate monuments started falling around the country.
The home of Washington & Lee university! This was strictly a public symbolic move, not serious about the issue.
Ridiculous
Checkmate 🔥
Between the removal/destruction of statues, the 1619 project and CRT, I am reminded of the line from George Orwell's 1984: 'Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.' Be afraid!
Sad. The people making these decisions do not know anything about US history
We should pay reparations to slave owners who had their plantation stolen from them by the north
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Richmond, Virginia to remove largest Confederate statue of Robert E. Lee remaining in U.S.The statue will come down on Wednesday, September 8, 131 years after the statue was put in place. It will be placed in storage until its future is determined. And poof! It never happened. What’s this love affair southerners have with traitors and losers?
Source: Newsweek - 🏆 468. / 52 Read more »
Statue of Confederate Robert E. Lee coming down in VirginiaThe state of Virginia has brought in a deconstruction crew surrounded by a heavy police presence to remove one of the nation's largest remaining monuments to the Confederacy NicoleFCarr Good. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 But why? You and I may be acquainted but we are not traveling companions. I am merely here to enjoy Earth Day and play some hacky-sack.
Source: ABC - 🏆 471. / 51 Read more »
Statue of Confederate Robert E. Lee coming down in VirginiaBREAKING: After years of resistance and a long court battle, the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee was being pulled from its prominent perch in Richmond, Virginia. Many consider the statue an offensive tribute to the South’s slave-holding past. Don’t understand how republicans can be so hell bent over keeping “critical race theory” out of school but at the same time fight to keep the racist confederacy statues up They should erect a statue of a big giant injection needle so we can all be reminded of who we are enslaved by today in America. The plaque can simple read: Rx. America the Drugged, formerly free & brave. AS IF YOU CAN ERASE REALITY. DENY FACTS, AND YOUR LIFE IS A LIE.
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »
Robert E. Lee statue on historic Virginia street to come downVirginia on Wednesday is set to take down a towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, the last Confederate statue remaining along Richmond's historic Monument Avenue. Melt it down and have a fundraiser to raise money for those in need.
Source: CNN - 🏆 4. / 95 Read more »
Robert E. Lee statue on historic Virginia street removedVirginia on Wednesday took down a towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, the last Confederate statue remaining along Richmond's historic Monument Avenue. Great! we can not serve 2 masters The ultimate loser Right, they rewrote the history books for the start of this school year because this statue came down yesterday, hmmm I call bullshit.
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Virginia to take down Robert E. Lee statue on WednesdayA statue of Confederate Civil War General Robert E. Lee that towers six stories over Richmond, Virginia, and was a centerpiece of protests over racial injustice, is coming down this week. Bye bye Bob! Robert E Lee. What a legend! about time The South Lost
Source: Reuters - 🏆 2. / 97 Read more »