Virginia recommends removing Lee statue from Capitol Hill

RICHMOND, Virginia, USA (AP) – A legislative commission in Virginia recommends removing a statue of Confederation general Robert E. Lee during the Civil War from the Capitol in Washington and replacing it with that of another Virginia native. amid the national controversy surrounding the removal of controversial monuments and symbols.

The eight-member commission unanimously voted Friday to remove the Lee statue. Each state has statues of two of its illustrious natives in the Statues Room of the National Congress. Those in Virginia are those of George Washington and Lee, erected in 1909.

Gov. Ralph Northam said he will forward the decision on Lee to the Library of Congress Joint Commission to request the immediate removal of the statue.

“The Robert E. Lee statue reads our true and whole story and has never represented all Virginians,” Northam said in a statement. “I commend the commission on its just decision to remove this relic from the halls of Congress and replace it with a new statue that embodies the inclusive community to which we aspire ”.

The Virginia government has made a series of decisions to remove symbols from the Confederacy following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police on May 25 in Minneapolis, sparking a national protest movement. The Commission was created months ago by the state legislature.

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