The Richmond statue of General Robert E. Lee, the country’s largest Confederate statue and divisive symbol in a city where several similar statues have already been removed, will be removed Wednesday.
“Virginia’s largest monument to the Confederate insurgency will fall this week,” said Gov. Ralph Northam (D) he said in a statement. “This is an important step in showing who we are and what we value as a Commonwealth.”
On Tuesday evening, teams will install fencing along Monument and Allen Avenues, where the statue is located, to restrict cars and pedestrians, the Washington Post reported. After the statue is removed Wednesday, it will be kept in a state facility.
Northam first announced plans to remove the statue in June 2020, after nationwide protests following the assassination of George Floyd increased long-standing pressure to tear down the statue.
The withdrawal was delayed more than a year due to two lawsuits, one filed by a group of Richmond residents and the other filed by a descendant of the family who handed over the statue to Virginia.
Both allegations stated that Northam did not have the authority to remove the statue because Virginia is restricted by language to the writing of the 1889 statue. A judge ruled in favor of the state in October, but the ‘statue remained while the plaintiffs appealed the sentence to the state Supreme Court.
The Virginia Supreme Court earlier this month ruled that the statue could fall.
“As we continue our work to address systemic racism in our society, bringing down this statue will be an important step in the ongoing process of making Virginia a more open, welcoming, just and just place for all,” he said. the state attorney general, Mark Herring. (D) said after the Virginia Supreme Court ruling.
The public can see the removal of the statue via a live Facebook broadcast and via Northam’s Twitter administrator, @GovernorVA, according to the Post.