1 of 1
Offline
Two bronze statues of Confederate generals will be removed from public property in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, almost four years after the statues were the flashpoint for the violent "Unite the Right" rally that left one person dead and many others injured.
In a news release, the Charlottesville government said the statues of Robert E. Lee in Market Street Park and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson in Court Square Park will be taken down on Saturday and placed in storage. The stone bases will be left in place and removed at a later date.
The city said public viewing areas will be set up in both parks for the removals. The exact schedule for removal has not been determined and will be subject to weather.
The Charlottesville City Council voted June 7 to remove the the statues following a court battle of more than three years.The "Unite the Right" rallies of August 11-12, 2017, brought thousands of protesters to Charlottesville, many bearing Confederate and neo-Nazi symbolism, to protest the removal of the statues.
Offline
Machinery first lifted the statue of Robert E. Lee in Market Street Park from its stone base shortly after 8 a.m.
A statue of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was removed from Court Square Park nearly two hours later.
A crowd that gathered to watch clapped and cheered both times.
Offline
Good...glad they took them down !
These statues (most of went up decades after the war ended) weren't intended to honor the war dead, but were intended to memorialize white supremacy.
Offline
They were a symbol to intimidate people of color. Not at all a celebration, but a tool of Jim Crow oppression.
1 of 1