"The Removal of The Robert E. Lee Statue from State Capital in Virginia" by Sierra B.

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This is a picture of Robert E. Lee statue in Virginia.


 The Robert E. Lee statue was erected in 1890 as one of the first of six confederate statues. It was put up during a time in which southern states were forcing  white supremacists systems and structures. A lot of protests were centered around the statue to symbolize racial injustice. A lot of BLM protests have been centered around this statue. The statue was covered in graffiti with different messages regarding racism and denouncing the police. 

The removal of the Robert E. Lee Statue relieved a lot of people. The statue represented white supremacy and that white people should be above everyone else. That’s what the South believed for a while, but after the racial conflicts that have been happening in the past couple of years they changed their minds. After the death of George Floyd and the protests on how black people should fight injustice they decided to take the monument down. After George Floyd’s death and even more black lives matter protests began they realized that when they were supporting Robert E. Lee, they were supporting racism and racial inequality. They decided that the best thing for the world was to remove the statue and make people believe that racism and racial inequality are bad and need to be stopped. ¨The removal was based on violent acts committed by white supremacists using Confederate imagery and historians questioning the legitimacy of Robert E. Lee. Irv Cantor once thought that we could keep the statue but in the past few years he has changed his mind. The events involving race, from the election of Obama, to the violence in Charlottesville in 2017, to the killing of George Floyd last summer and the protests that followed persuaded Cantor to be on board with the removal of Robert E. Lee statue. 

The statue was a reminder to Richmonds black residents of generational slavery. The pedestal was covered in graffiti. The messages were about denouncing police and demanding an end to racism and inequality. Stu Smith, African American, said ¨there’s a lot more problems beside this stupid monument.¨ ¨What happens after they take this down? Nothing’s going to change.¨ Many people wanted this statue taken down hoping that maybe racism and inequality would stop. Others believe that racial discrimination will never stop and taking down the statue isn’t going to change anything. The removal of this statue sparked protests against taking down the statue which resulted in at least 3 deaths. ¨This city belongs to all of us, not just some of us,¨ David Bailey. He helps churches with racial reconciliation. Racial reconciliation is trying to make people have the same beliefs or views on racism and inequality. He wants to create a new legacy. The removal of the statue surprised many people because they never thought that they would take down a piece of history. Most people didn’t think that there was anything wrong with he statue staying up but people thought that if the statue was removed then racism and racial discrimination would eventually go away.  

Tavernise, Sabrina. ¨Virginia Removes Robert E. Lee Statue from State Capital,¨ Sept. 8, 2021. <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/08/us/robert-e-lee-statue-virginia.html>

Contreras, Russell. ¨How Robert E. Lee went from hero to racist icon.¨ Aug. 13, 2017.<https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-robert-lee-hero-racist-icon-20170813-story.html> 

Smith, David. ¨It’s a beautiful day from democracy: Virginia removes Robert E Lee statue from capital.¨ Sept. 8 2021. <https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/08/robert-e-lee-statue-confederate-general-richmond-virginia> 

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2021 at 7:17 AM

    I don't understand why people would think taking down a historical statue would help end racism and things. Then people are going and denouncing the police literally on the statue, how is that supposed to help anything? It is sad how America is getting back to the way it was so long ago and we have to take down a statue to please people.

    ReplyDelete
  2. GillianSeptember 23, 2021 at 3:52 PM

    I think that racism is still a prevalent issue in the US. Taking down statues won’t end racism, but I think the removal of the statues can start conversations about America’s legacy of racial inequality, which will hopefully lead to improvements. I don’t think that taking down the statues is erasing history, and I think that people will remember the Confederacy regardless of if statues are still there or not.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 24, 2021 at 7:22 AM

    I don't feel like either view is wrong. I don't think taking statues down will end racism or even really help. I think it angered a lot of people and wasn't really worth the effort. I do understand that they felt it represented racism but it also represented an important time in American history. I think instead of tearing statues down they should just add new ones to represent this shift in history. ~Annie

    ReplyDelete

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