WASHINGTON (AP) — A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that represented Virginia in the U.S. Capitol has been removed.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement that workers removed the statue from the National Statuary Hall Collection early Monday.
Lee’s statue had stood with George Washington’s statue since 1909 as Virginia’s representatives in the Capitol.
Northam had requested its removal and a state commission has recommended replacing Lee’s statue with a likeness of Barbara Johns.
She protested poor conditions at her all-Black high school in the town of Farmville in 1951. Her court case became part of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down racial segregation in public schools.
LATEST STORIES:
- She’s asked the question so many times that she barely listened to the answers anymore.
- ‘We have to act’: Tim Tebow testifies before Congress on combatting child exploitation
- New Ghostbusters-themed popcorn bucket launching at Regal Cinemas
- Man who crashed snowmobile into parked Black Hawk helicopter suing government for $9.5M
- Mega Millions, Powerball jackpots growing: Which one has better odds?
