Va. gov. announces plans to remove confederate statue of Robert E. Lee

June 5, 2020 Michael US 0

FILE – This Tuesday, June 27, 2017 file photo shows the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee that stands in the middle of a traffic circle on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:20 PM PT — Thursday, June 4, 2020

Virginia’s governor has confirmed the state will be removing its historic confederate statue of Robert E. Lee. On Thursday, Ralph Northam announced the statue will be put in storage, pending a decision on where it should be placed.

The site, which is located in Richmond, has been the center of massive protests over the past week following the death of George Floyd. Several incidents of vandalism have been reported along the historic monument avenue.

According to the governor, this new move will send a clear message that Virginia is learning from the past and moving forward.

I believe in a Virginia that studies its past in an honest way.

I believe in a Virginia that learns lessons from the past. And we all know our country needs that example right now.

— Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) June 4, 2020

FILE – This Tuesday, June 2, 2020 file photo shows a large group of protesters gather around the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue near downtown in Richmond, Va.(AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

“In Virginia, we no longer preach a false version of history, one that pretends that the Civil War was about state rights and not the evils of slavery,” stated Governor Northam. “No one believes that any longer and, in 2020, we can no longer honor a system that was based on the buying and selling of enslaved people.”

In 2020, we can no longer honor a system that was based on the buying and selling of enslaved people.

Yes, that statue has been there for a long time. But it was wrong then, and it is wrong now.

So we’re taking it down.

— Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) June 4, 2020