Always the opportunist, Governor Northam (D-VA) announced today that he plans on removing the statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia. The removal comes after vast civil unrest across the country in response to the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by Minneapolis police.
Richmond, the capital of Virginia, is also the former capital of the Confederacy and has five statutes of Confederate heroes on what is known as Monument Avenue. The monuments have become the target of relentless focus and attacks in recent years, particularly since the August 2017 incident in Charlottesville. Richmond’s Mayor, Levy Stoney, also announced plans to remove the remaining statues of Confederate figures such as General Stonewall Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart, and Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
The new ordinance will be announced on July 1st; this is when the new law goes into effect that undoes the existing state law that protects the statues and monuments, allowing localities to rule on their fate.
The statue of Robert E. Lee has stood since 1890. Northam plans to have the monuments placed into storage while decisions are made as to their final locations. During his announcement today Northam stated the statue would be removed “as soon as possible.” His statement was met with extended applause.
NBC News reported on the issue in part:
The weight of Northam’s decision is significant: Monument Avenue is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark District, it’s home to celebrations in honor of Lee’s birthday and to Confederate-themed events, and is a local attraction for tourists and history buffs.
“Today, we’re here to be honest about our past and talk about our future,” Northam, a Democrat who lives in Richmond, the commonwealth’s capital, said. “I’m no historian, but I strongly believe we have to confront where we’ve been in order to get where we’re going.”
Northam has faced calls to commit to racial justice issues after he came under fire last year when photos surfaced of a person in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan robe on his personal page of his Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook decades earlier. Amid the fallout and defying demands that he resign, Northam denied being in the picture after he “had a chance to step back, take a deep breath” and study it.
