Virginia Governor to announce removal of historic Richmond statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee as similar statues across the country are toppled amid George Floyd protests(24 Pictures)
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is slated to announce the removal of the historic statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from its pedestal following demands from George Floyd protesters.
Northam plans to announce the removal of the monument, which is owned by the state, on Thursday and it will be put into storage.
The statue, unveiled in 1890, has become a gathering point for demonstrations over the past week, where protesters demanded justice for the police killing of George Floyd and the end of police brutality.
When news broke of the pending announcement, protesters gathered at the base of the heavily defaced monument on Wednesday erupted in cheers.
Confederate and controversial monuments in Alabama, Virginia, and Tennessee have been toppled following pressure from George Floyd protesters.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is slated to announce the removal of the historic statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from its pedestal following demands from George Floyd protesters. Demonstrators pictured sitting near the statue on Wednesday
The statue, unveiled in 1890, has become a gathering point for demonstrations over the past week, where protesters demanded justice for the police killing of George Floyd and the end of police brutality. Protesters pictured waving signs at the base of the statue on Tuesday
Protesters carrying signs that say 'Black Trans Lives Matter' and 'Abolish The Police' pictured in front of the historic monument on Tuesday
Over the past week thousands have gathered around the statue that depicts the general on a horse, and defaced with graffiti
A group of protesters gathered around the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia on Tuesday chanting 'Tear it down'
Also on Wednesday, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced plans to remove the other Confederate monuments along Monument Avenue including statues of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Confederate Gens. Stonewall Jackson and J.E.B. Stuart. He said he would introduce an ordinance on July 1 to remove them.
On Tuesday morning the bronze statue of Confederate soldier 'Appomattox' was taken down in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia by its owners who feared it would be vandalized in demonstrations.
The statue, erected in 1889 to honor Confederate soldiers, has been a point of controversy for years but remained standing despite repeated demands for removal, until this week.
Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson tweeted photos of the statue removal saying: 'Alexandria, like all great cities, is constantly changing and evolving.'
A city spokesperson said the owner of the statue – the United Daughters of the Confederacy – notified the city Monday that they would remove the statue.
On Tuesday morning the bronze statue of Confederate soldier 'Appomattox' was taken down in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia by its owners the United Daughters of the Confederacy for fear that it would get vandalized as other Confederate monuments have amid protests
The statue, erected in 1889 to honor Confederate soldiers, has been a point of controversy for years but remained standing after repeated demands for removal, until this week. A crane pictured picking up the historic statue
Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson tweeted photos of the statue removal saying, 'Alexandria, like all great cities, is constantly changing and evolving'
The bronze statue stood at its post in downtown Alexandria for nearly 130 years. The statue stands with his back to the nation's capital as he gazes towards where the bloody battlefields of the Civil War once stood
Mayor Wilson said the group opted to remove the memorial because other segregation-era statues have been vandalized in protests sweeping the nation.
It was removed following seven days of protests, both peaceful and violent, across the country to decry the police killing of black man George Floyd.
The owners had previously planned to relocate the 131-year-old statue in July, in accordance with a new state law that allows localities to remove, relocate or contextualize Confederate monuments.
On Monday night the 115-year-old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument in Birmingham, Alabama was removed from its pedestal after it became a focal point in protests against police brutality on Sunday night into early Monday.
In Birmingham, Alabama the 115-year-old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument was removed from its pedestal on Monday night. The historic monument located in Birmingham's Linn park was removed Monday evening after it became a focal point of protests that led to unrest in the city on Sunday night into Monday
Workers pictured taking apart the historic statue that served as constant reminder of the losing faction in the American Civil war
The Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument in Birmingham's Linn Park was heavily defaced by protesters decrying police brutality over the weekend
Sarah Collins Rudolph smiles with her husband George Rudolph in front of the remains of the Confederate memorial. As of Tuesday morning all that remained of the statue was its vandalized base
Robert Walker poses for a photograph on the remains of a Confederate memorial that was removed overnight in Birmingham, Alabama on Tuesday
The statue was removed after the city’s Mayor Randall Woodfin vowed to remove offensive statues in the city.
It was dismantled on what would have been the 212th birthday of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy.
The statue had been heavily defaced and covered in graffiti in protests in the city this past week. Now all that's left are the graffitied words 'Black Lives Matter.'
Mayor Woodfin said city leaders will not disclose the location of the monument in order to protect it from further damage, as per WBRC. City leaders will decide with state leaders about where the monument will eventually go.
Birmingham: An unidentified man walks past a toppled statue of Charles Linn, a city founder who was in the Confederate Navy, in Birmingham, Alabama on Monday following a night of unrest
Before the fall: The standing Charles Linn statue in Linn Park in Birmingham, Alabama pictured in 2018
Protesters pictured surrounding the fallen and vandalized Charles Linn statue
Sarah Collins Rudolph, whose sister Addie Mae Collins died in the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church, had to see the sight for herself on Tuesday. She lowered a protective face mask to take in the absence of an edifice she long considered a symbol of oppression.
'I'm glad it's been removed because it has been so long, and we know that it's a hate monument,' Rudolph, 69, said Tuesday. 'It didn't represent the blacks. It just represented the hard times back there a long time ago.'
In Montgomery, Alabama a statue of General Robert E Lee, the Commander of the Confederate Army in the Civil War, was toppled on Monday. The empty pedestal that once held the monument pictured Tuesday
The standing statue of Robert E. Lee in front of Lee High School in Montgomery, Alabama pictured above in photo from 2012
This image shared to Facebook shows people standing around the fallen monument in protests over the weekend
Police pictured next to the fallen Robert E. Lee statue after it was toppled in front of the Lee High School, which has a majority black population, in Montgomery, Alabama
Last week a crowd of protesters decrying police brutality toppled a statue of Confederate Navy captain Charles Linn in a park named after him in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Linn monument, just like many other Confederate soldier monuments in the South, has been a point of contentious debate.
Previous efforts to remove it were blocked by the Alabama attorney general in defense of the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act, a Republican-backed legislation aimed at making it harder to remove Confederate monuments.
But the protests led locals to deal with the monument in their own way.
One person shared video of the statue’s fall on Twitter saying: 'This is the only kind of destruction we need. Stop burning down the community and burn down the confederate relics.'
In Montgomery, Alabama a statue of General Robert E Lee, the Commander of the Confederate Army in the Civil War, was toppled on Monday.
Four people were charged with criminal mischief after they removed the statue amid nationwide protests.
A Montgomery Public Schools spokesperson confirmed Tuesday the system has the piece and that it is in storage for safekeeping.
In Nashville, Tenneessee a statue of controversial former lawmaker and newspaper publisher Edward Carmack, who was known for his racist views, was torn down on Saturday
Protesters brought down the statue that stood outside the state Capitol after a peaceful demonstration turned violent on Sunday
A group of protesters gather around the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia chanting 'Tear it down'
Spray paint that reads 'Do Black Vets Count?' is seen World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, Sunday. The memorial honors and remembers the one million black veterans who served
In Nashville, Tenneessee a statue of controversial former lawmaker and newspaper publisher Edward Carmack, who was known for his racist views, was torn down on Saturday.
Outside Tampa, Florida, a Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter lowered a huge Confederate battle flag that has long been flown in view of two interstate highways.
Confederate monuments that haven’t been toppled have been heavily vandalized, such as the Robert E. Lee memorial and the Stonewall Jackson statue in Richmond, Virginia and the Confederate Defender statue in Charleston, South Carolina, which are now covered in graffiti and spray paint.
Virginia Governor to announce removal of historic Richmond statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee as similar statues across the country are toppled amid George Floyd protests(24 Pictures)
![Virginia Governor to announce removal of historic Richmond statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee as similar statues across the country are toppled amid George Floyd protests(24 Pictures)]()
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