More than a year after Governor Ralph Northam originally ordered it to come down, a giant statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee will be removed Wednesday.
Officials say it will be placed in a state-owned facility until a decision is made about what to do with it.
The statue’s pedestal will remain for now. Its fate will be determined in a community-driven effort to reimagine Richmond’s Monument Avenue. That’s where the statue has been located since it was erected in 1890.
The removal comes after the Supreme Court of Virginia sided with Northam last week in two lawsuits that sought to block the monument’s removal.
You can find more information about public viewing of the statue's removal and details about road closures here.
Here's the full statement from a conglomeration of state agencies that will work to remove the statue this week:
RICHMOND, VA: The Commonwealth of Virginia will remove the largest Confederate statue remaining in the United States—the statue of Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue in Richmond—on Wednesday, September 8, following authorization by all three branches of state government, including a unanimous decision last week by the Supreme Court of Virginia.
On Thursday, September 9, crews will remove the plaques from the base of the monument and will replace a time capsule that is believed to be located at the site.
Preparations will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, September 7, when crews will install protective fencing along Monument Avenue and Allen Street. All vehicles and pedestrians must be cleared from the area at that time. The fencing will remain in place until all items are removed from the site.
The 40‐foot granite pedestal will remain for now. The pedestal’s final disposition will be determined following a community‐driven effort to reimagine Monument Avenue, including the state‐owned property surrounding the monument and the pedestal. The City of Richmond and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (on behalf of the Commonwealth) are spearheading the effort.
The statue was installed in 1890, a generation after the Civil War, during the historical movement that sought to undo the results of the war by other means. Five other statues would follow, as part of a housing development along Monument Avenue. This statue is the only one owned by the Commonwealth and is the last to be removed.
Governor Northam ordered the statue removed in June 2020, but legal challenges delayed it until the Supreme Court of Virginia unanimously ruled last week in the Commonwealth’s favor in Taylor v. Northam and Gregory v. Northam, affirming the Commonwealth’s authority to remove the statue.
The statue will be placed in secure storage at a state‐owned facility until a decision is made as to its disposition.
“Virginia’s largest monument to the Confederate insurrection will come down this week,” said Governor Ralph S. Northam. “This is an important step in showing who we are and what we value as a Commonwealth.”
“We are taking an important step this week to embrace the righteous cause and put the ‘Lost Cause’ behind us,” said Mayor Levar M. Stoney. “Richmond is no longer the capital of the Confederacy. We are a diverse, open, and welcoming city, and our symbols need to reflect this reality.”
