In the United States, the city of Richmond will unbolt its statue of General Lee

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By decision of the Governor of the State of Virginia, the city of Richmond renounces its most famous and controversial monument: the equestrian statue of General Robert Lee, commander-in-chief of the Confederate States, opposed to the abolition of the slavery.

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The African-American mayor of Richmond, Levar Stoney, begins the press conference with very strong words. “  We have two pandemics in this country: Covid-19 and racism. One is only six months old, the second is 400 years old,  ”he says. "  It's time to heal  ."

It is time to show our community how much love we have. It is time that we embrace our diversity. It is time that we remove barriers that hinder the dreams of Black children. It is time for healing - through changes to our symbols and our systems. # 1RVA https://t.co/dFKaeCDYCF

A few minutes later, the governor of Virginia Ralph Northam announces the unbolt of the equestrian statue of General Lee, installed in the heart of the city since 1890, but also the passage of a law which will allow in a month to all the cities of the State to dispose of monuments of this type as they wish. "  Take them out, put them somewhere else." But make no mistake: removing a symbol is important, but it's only a step, it doesn't mean that the problems are solved. There are always monuments of inequality in this country,  ”he warns.

We must take action.

So I am directing @DGSvirginia to remove the statue of Robert E. Lee. It will go into storage, and we will work with the community to determine its future.

Since the death of George Floyd, who died of asphyxiation after his arrest by the police in Minneapolis last week, protesters have called for the removal of the statues of General Lee. An American Civil War figure, he became the icon of white supremacists, neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan, and his statues, symbols of the division of two Americas. Its withdrawal is more symbolic in Richmond than elsewhere: the city was 160 years ago the capital of the Confederate States.

Read also: The death of George Floyd reclassified as murder, the four ex-agents prosecuted

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• United States
• History
• Slavery