Black Lives Matter activists in Richmond, Virginia, projected the LGBTQ rainbow flag as well as images of prominent African Americans onto the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
The statue on Monument Avenue in Richmond, in which Lee is depicted on a horse, has been the site of massive protests since the May 25 police-involved killing of George Floyd.
Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died in the custody of Minneapolis police.
Four officers, including one who was seen kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes, have been charged.
People gather around a monument of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, on Wednesday
The governor of Virginia has ordered that the monument be taken down, but a judge has put those plans on hold after a lawsuit was filed to block the move
Since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody on May 25, the statue has drawn protesters in Richmond
Floyd’s death ignited worldwide protests as millions took to the streets calling for racial justice and an end to police brutality.
The incident also reignited the debate over the future of Confederate statues and monuments as well as other memorials for controversial figures in American history who owned slaves.
Democratic Governor Ralph Northam last week ordered the removal of the 12-ton, 61ft-high equestrian statue of Lee, the most revered Confederate of them all, but a judge on Monday blocked such action for at least 10 days.
The spokesman for the Virginia division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, B. Frank Earnest, condemned the toppling of ‘public works of art’ and likened losing the Confederate statues to losing a family member.
Black Lives Matter protesters have projected the colors of the LGTBQ rainbow flag onto the monument
Activists have also projected the letters ‘BLM’ onto the statue of Lee, who is depicted on a horse
Activists have also projected the images of prominent African American activists including the late black nationalist leader Malcolm X
The likeness of George Floyd is seen above projected onto the statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, on Friday
Activists also projected the image of Angela Davis, the former far-left activist author and speaker
‘The men who served under Robert E. Lee were my great-grandfathers or their brothers and their cousins. So it is my family,’ he said.
‘What if a crowd of any other group went and found the symbols of someone they didn’t like and decided to tear them down? Everybody would be appalled.’
He added: ‘I don’t know why it’s acceptable, why people who are descended from the Confederate Army and the Confederate soldiers, it’s accepted in this country that you can do anything to us you want.’
Black Lives Matter activists projected the ‘BLM’ letters onto the statue on Friday. The LGBTQ pride flag as well as the likeness of prominent black activists including Angela Davis and Malcolm X were also projected onto the monument.
Protesters also projected the images of blacks who were killed by police and others, including Floyd and Trayvon Martin.
Martin was the Florida teen who was shot and killed by a security guard in 2012.
Protesters on Thursday pulled down a century-old statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond, which is also the former capital of the Confederacy, adding it to the list of Old South monuments removed or damaged around the US in the wake of Floyd’s death.
The 8ft bronze figure on Richmond’s grand Monument Avenue had been all but marked for removal by city leaders in a matter of months, but demonstrators took matters into their own hands Wednesday night, tying ropes around its legs and toppling it from its stone pedestal onto the pavement.
The image of Trayvon Martin, the young black man who was shot and killed by a security guard in Florida in 2012, was also projected onto the statue
Activists also projected the image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, the slain civil rights leader, onto the statue
Democratic Governor Ralph Northam last week ordered the removal of the 12-ton, 61ft-high equestrian statue of Lee, the most revered Confederate of them all, but a judge on Monday blocked such action for at least 10 days
A crowd cheered and police looked on as the monument – installed by a Confederate heritage group in 1907 – was towed away.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney had recently announced he would introduce an ordinance in July to remove the Davis monument and statues of other Confederates, including Gens. Stonewall Jackson and J.E.B. Stuart.
A new state law that goes into effect this summer undoes protections for Confederate monuments and lets local governments decide what to do with them.
Stoney tweeted Thursday that he will push to quickly dismantle the other monuments. Both he and the governor asked protesters not to do it themselves.
‘For the sake of public safety, I ask the community to allow us to legally contract to have the remaining ones removed professionally, to prevent any potential harm that could result from attempts to remove them without professional experience,’ Stoney said.
Large crowds of protesters were seen near the statue on Saturday. The spokesman for the Virginia division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, B. Frank Earnest, condemned the toppling of ‘public works of art’ and likened losing the Confederate statues to losing a family member
Protesters carry signs and chant slogans near the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday
Protesters are seen above holding a sign which reads ‘No justice, no peace! Black Lives Matter!’ in Richmond on Saturday
Several protesters were seen sitting at the foot of the statue in Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday
A close-up of the statue of Robert E. Lee is seen in the above image from Saturday in Richmond, Virginia
Speaker Sherri Robinson chants ‘tear this statue down’ to protesters at a rally against racial inequality in Richmond on Saturday
Crews on Friday removed a 113-year-old statue of a Confederate soldier that stood atop an 80ft-tall Confederate monument in downtown Norfolk, Virginia.
The city said in a statement Friday that the statue, nicknamed Johnny Reb, came down in less than two hours.
The 15ft-figure was removed out of concern for public safety.
A protester had suffered life-threatening injuries in the neighboring city of Portsmouth after demonstrators pulled down a confederate statue in that city on Wednesday.
Norfolk’s city council members passed a resolution expressing their desire to remove the statue after a violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville in 2017.
But a state law protecting memorials to war veterans prohibited Norfolk from doing so.
That law was rewritten earlier this year by the new Democratic majority at the General Assembly and will give localities the ability to decide what to do with monuments.
Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander acknowledged that the new version doesn’t go into effect until July 1 but said he thinks public safety trumps waiting.
He said the remaining pieces of the column would be taken down in coming weeks.