RICHMOND, Va. — A towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Va., is expected to be taken down on Wednesday as a symbol of racial injustice, more than 130 years after it was erected in tribute to the South’s Civil War leader.
While many other Confederate symbols across the South have been removed without public announcements beforehand to avoid unruly crowds, Gov. Ralph Northam’s office is expecting a multitude and plans to livestream the event on social media.
Northam announced plans to take down the statue in June 2020, 10 days after George Floyd died under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, sparking nationwide protests against police brutality and racism. The plans were stalled by two lawsuits filed by residents opposed to its removal, but rulings last week by the Supreme Court of Virginia cleared the way for the statue to be taken down.
Patrick McSweeney, an attorney for plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits, said Monday that he plans to notify the high court that he will ask for a rehearing, but such requests are rarely granted.
The imposing, 21-foot tall bronze likeness of Lee on a horse sits atop a granite pedestal nearly twice that high in the grassy center of a traffic circle on Richmond’s famed Monument Avenue.
“Virginia’s largest monument to the Confederate insurrection will come down this week,” Northam said in news release on Monday. “This is an important step in showing who we are and what we value as a commonwealth.”
State officials said that preparations for the statue’s removal will begin this week when crews will install protective fencing.
Once the statue is hoisted off the pedestal, it’s expected to be cut into two pieces for transport, although the final plan is subject to change, a spokeswoman for the state’s Department of General Services said.
After the statue is taken down Wednesday, crews on Thursday will remove plaques from the base of the monument and will replace a time capsule that is believed to be there.