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Local workers removed a bronze statue of Robert E. Lee on Saturday, nearly four years after its planned removal triggered a deadly riot in Charlottesville, Virginia. Shortly after 8 am, a crowd of spectators gathered to witness cranes hoist the monument off its granite base. “Taking down this statue is one small step closer to the goal of helping Charlottesville, Va., and America, grapple with the sin of being willing to destroy Black people for economic gain,” said Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker to the crowd of spectators, according to the
A few hours later, a nearby statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson was also taken down, followed closely by the removal of another statue of the explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the Shoshone indian Sacagawea. In an emergency session held earlier in the day, Charlottesville’s City Council voted to remove the statue which many said depicted Sacagawea in a subservient manner.
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Confederate Robert E Lee’s racist legacy fuels US renaming push Chris Moody © A sign reading Hate Has No Home Here hangs by the statue of Civil War Confederate General Robert E. A sign reading Hate Has No Home Here hangs by the statue of Civil War Confederate General Robert E Lee before the first anniversary of the 2017 Charlottesville, Virginia protests [File: Brian Snyder/Reuters]
As the United States continues to grapple over race relations and symbols that venerate Confederates who fought to perpetuate slavery in the 1860s, communities across the country are considering new approaches to memorialising one of the rebellion’s most famous leaders: General Robert E Lee.
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