BY ANDREW CAIN
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Virginia removed its statue of Robert E. Lee from the U.S. Capitol overnight, the latest move in the state s purge of Confederate iconography in a year of reckoning on racial injustice.
Each state gets two statues in the Statuary Hall collection. Since 1909 Virginia s statues have depicted George Washington and Lee. A state panel last week recommended to the General Assembly that Virginia replace its Lee statue with a statue of teenage civil rights heroine Barbara Johns. We should all be proud of this important step forward for our Commonwealth and our country,â Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement Monday.
A statue of Robert E. Lee was removed from the U.S. Capitol early Monday. Credit: Office of Governor Northam
Virginia Removes Its Robert E. Lee Statue From U.S. Capitol By
at 6:39 am NPR
For more than 100 years, two statues representing Virginia have stood at the U.S. Capitol: one of George Washington and another of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
But early Monday, the Lee statue was removed from the National Statuary Hall s collection. It s expected to be replaced by a statue honoring civil rights activist Barbara Johns. This is a historic and long-overdue moment for our Commonwealth, U.S. Reps. Donald McEachin and Jennifer Wexton, both Democrats from Virginia, said in a statement. The Robert E. Lee statue honors a legacy of division, oppression, and racism â a dark period in the history of our Commonwealth and our country.
Virginia removes Lee statue from U S Capitol overnight Monument honoring civil rights hero will replace it greensboro.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from greensboro.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.