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Richmond residents weigh in on latest defacing of a Confederate memorial in Richmond

Posted at 10:34 PM, Jul 03, 2015
and last updated 2015-07-03 23:24:26-04

RICHMOND -- Overnight, the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument was defaced on Libbie Terrace in Richmond’s Church Hill. It’s the third time in two weeks one of the city’s many Confederate memorials has been tagged.

One side appeared to say “F-crackers” and the other - “RBGz” with an up arrow - some believe, refers to the Rebuild Ah Nation Movement, or Red, Black, and Green rising, referring to the Pan African flag and a black nationalism/liberation movement.

But one young African-American woman told us it could just be someone agitating, someone who “hates African-Americans” or people in general.

Most of it was quickly cleaned off. But bad feelings lingered among park regulars and other visitors. Some told CBS 6 that it was, “cowardly” and an “embarrassment to all of us.” Another African- American woman was she understands the anger and the movement that has led to the monument vandalism, but added that “It really won’t solve anything and just puts us back to that rut, you know, where we were before.”

This is one of the city’s older monuments, and it can be seen from far and wide as it sits atop one of Richmond’s most breathtaking vistas, the one that city was supposedly named after because it looked like Richmond on the Thames in England.

The memorial overlooks the site of the old Confederate Navy Yard before Richmond was burned at the end of the war.

It was built and paid for ($30,000) by the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument Association, one of several in the U.S. This one borrowed from an Egyptian design and was unveiled in 1894. The 13 granite blocks in the pillar represent each of the Confederate states.

This is a very popular spot with dog walkers, bench-sitters, sightseers and athletes. Its stairs are a magnet for those who want a punishing workout.

We spoke with several of those who came to enjoy a relatively mild afternoon above the James River. Please listen to their comments and see the monument in our video report.

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