Virginia has removed from its iconic state capitol the busts and a statue honoring Confederate generals and officials.
That includes a bronze statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee positioned in the same spot where he stood to assume command of the state’s armed forces in the Civil War nearly 160 years ago.
Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn quietly ordered the Lee statue and busts of generals J.E.B. Stuart, Stonewall Jackson, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and others removed from the historic Old House Chamber.
Virginia has a story to tell that extends far beyond glorifying the Confederacy, whose primary objective in the Civil War was to preserve an ideology that maintained the enslavement of human beings. It is time for our Capitol to truly reflect our history. pic.twitter.com/GlNy0VeoTM
— Eileen Filler-Corn (@EFillerCorn) July 24, 2020
A crew worked through the night Thursday to have them out of the Capitol by Friday morning.
