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Statue is erected
"The Lee monument was erected in 1890, a time when Confederate symbols provided a rallying point for advocates of racial segregation and oppressive Jim Crow laws." Link text -
Historic Landmark
In 2007 This monument is placed on the National Register of Historic Places making it a landmark in the historic district of Virgina -
First Call for removal
In August of 2017, the Unite the Right rally violence was occurring in Virginia. Protesters called for the statue to be removed. Not only the one in Richmond but also in Charlottesville, NC. It was a symbol of white supremacy -
Summer 2020 George Floyd Riots
Protesters and rioters spread throughout much of the United States over the death of George Floyd. These protesters in Virginia started to graffiti the statue and portray messages of social injustice and tried to empower the people within their cause. -
Removal
Supreme court of Virginia called for the removal. Governor Ralph Northam is quoted with this directly after the removal, "After 133 years, the statue of Robert E. Lee has finally come down—the last Confederate statue on Monument Avenue, and the largest in the South. The public monuments reflect the story we choose to tell about who we are as a people. It is time to display history as history and use the public memorials to honor the full and inclusive truth of who we are today and in the future" -
Emancipation and Freedom Monument
This monument was erected in place of the Robert E. Lee Monument -
South East Side of the monument.
I decided to look at the southeast side of the monument; while filled with Graffiti, something that stood out to me was the steeps. Along with the steps, it reads "America has fucked up" and "Fuck Trump" as well as "BLM" I think some of those messages along these steps were trying to convey the message that they were trying to convey. They also had names like Rayshad Brooks or Tony Mcdade, who were killed in altercations with police. This is Graffiti in history while also history in graffiti.