Virginia’s top court says Charlottesville can take down Confederate statues

By Teddy Grant Published: April 5, 2021

Virginia’s top court says Charlottesville can take down Confederate statues

Confederate statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Source: Wikimedia https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)

Virginia’s supreme court ruled Thursday that Charlottesville can remove two statues of Confederate generals, according to the Associated Press.

The state’s top court overruled a lower court’s decision that sided with a group of residents who sued to prevent Charlottesville from taking down a statue of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson.

According to the AP, Charlottesville’s city council voted to remove both statues.

Charlottesville was the sight of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in 2017, where white supremacists and neo-Nazis protested against removing a statue of Lee.

In a statement Thursday, Charlottesville city officials said they would redesign the park areas where the statues are located, per reports.
Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker commended the community for remaining steadfast over the last five years.

“For all of us, who were on the right side of history, Bravo!” she said.