‘Important step forward’: Virginia Confederate statue removed from Capitol overnight

Jack Mayer, Office of Governor Northam.

VIRGINIA – Virginia’s statute of Confederate general Robert E. Lee was removed from the United States Capitol overnight on Sunday, according to Governor Ralph Northam’s office. A representative from the office was there for the removal, as well as Senator Tim Kaine and Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton.

In a statement, the Governor said in part, “We should all be proud of this important step forward for our Commonwealth and our country. The Confederacy is a symbol of Virginia’s racist and divisive history, and it is past time we tell our story with images of perseverance, diversity, and inclusion.”

At the capitol, each state is allowed two statues, and the Lee statue was one of Virginia’s contributions. The Virginia Museum of History will now take ownership of the statue.

In it’s place at the capitol, officials have decided to place a statute of civil rights icon Barbara Rose Johns. According to the governor’s office, in 1951, Johns, who was 16-years-old at the time, led a student walkout in Farmville, protesting the conditions at the all-Black school. The case eventually became part of five cases heard by the United States Supreme Court as part of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Before that statue is constructed, though, the General Assembly must approve the replacement.