- Monument of Confederate General Robert E. Lee was erected in Charlottesville in 1924; monument of Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson was erected in 1921
- Both statues were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997
- A push to remove the monuments – which critics claim were built to intimidate African Americans and glorify white supremacy – began in 2016
- In 2018, a Circuit Court judge ruled the statues met classification as ‘memorials for Civil War veterans’ and, as such, were protected by Virginia law; the Virginia Supreme Court overturned that ruling in April
- On Saturday, both monuments will be taken down and placed into storage
Work is underway to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia following a contentious four year legal battle.
The 21-foot tall bronze monument – which has stood in the city’s Emancipation Park since 1924 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 – will now be placed in storage.
A separate statue of Confederate General Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson will also be removed in Charlottesville on Saturday afternoon. Both Lee and Jackson fought against the abolition of slavery in the US Civil War.
A push to remove both monuments began in 2016, and subsequently prompted white nationalists to organize a ‘Unite The Right’ rally in the city in August 2017. The event culminated in the death of counter-protester Heather Heyer who was run down by a car.
Early Saturday morning, workers were seen in Emancipation Park hoisting the statue of Lee off its base with a large crane.
Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker gave a speech shortly after dawn decrying white supremacy.