RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The Supreme Court of Virginia ruled Thursday that the state can take down an enormous statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that became a symbol of racial injustice as it towered over Monument Avenue in the state’s capital for more than a century.
The high court’s ruling came in two lawsuits filed by residents who attempted to block removal of the 21-foot (6-meter) bronze equestrian sculpture, which shows Lee in military attire atop a 40-foot (12-meter) pedestal.
Governor Ralph Northam announced his decision to remove it in June 2020, 10 days after George Floyd’s death under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer sparked protests over police brutality and racism in cities across the country, including Richmond. The nationally recognized statue became the epicenter of a protest movement in Virginia after Floyd’s death and its base is now covered with graffiti.
Separate lawsuits were filed by a group of residents who own property near the statue and a descendant of signatories to a 1890 deed that transferred the statue, pedestal and land they sit on to the state.
In two opinions, the Supreme Court rejected the plaintiffs' arguments.
Their attorneys, Patrick McSweeney and Joseph Blackburn Jr., could not immediately be reached for comment on whether they plan to appeal.
Northam released the following statement about the decision:
“Today’s ruling is a tremendous win for the people of Virginia. Our public memorials are symbols of who we are and what we value. When we honor leaders who fought to preserve a system that enslaved human beings, we are honoring a lost cause that has burdened Virginia for too many years. I am grateful to Attorney General Mark Herring, my former counsel Rita Davis, and all those who worked so hard for this victory. This ruling is an important step towards moving the Commonwealth of Virginia and the City of Richmond forward into a more inclusive, just future. Today it is clear—the largest Confederate monument in the South is coming down.”
The Virginia Department of General Services said they will move "swiftly" to remove the statue, but plan to announce a removal date and details on how the public can view it at a later time.
"This is an extremely complex removal that requires coordination with multiple entities to ensure the safety of everyone involved," the department said.
The Lee statue was the first of five Confederate monuments to be erected on Richmond’s Monument Avenue, at a time when the Civil War and Reconstruction were long over, but Jim Crow racial segregation laws were on the rise.
When the statue arrived from France, where it was created, thousands of Virginians used wagons to help pull it in pieces for more than a mile to the place where it now stands. White residents celebrated the statue of the Civil War hero and native Virginian, but many Black residents have long seen it as a monument that glorifies slavery.
The city of Richmond, which was the capital of the Confederacy for most of the Civil War, has removed more than a dozen other pieces of Confederate statuary on city land since Floyd’s death, which prompted the removal of Confederate monuments in cities across the country.
