Virginia to Remove Statue of <br />Confederate General Robert E. Lee Plans to remove the monument in the city of Richmond <br />will be revealed Thursday by Governor Ralph Northam. A senior administration official tells <br />the Associated Press (AP) that the statue <br />of Lee will be put into storage. The official adds that Northam's administration <br />will discuss plans to move it to a new location. The move comes amid nationwide protests <br />against police brutality and racism after <br />the death of George Floyd. Confederate monuments have become targets of Virginia protesters. Besides General Lee, Monument Avenue has <br />four other Confederate monuments. They include statues of Confederate President <br />Jefferson Davis and Confederate General <br />Stonewall Jackson. They have also been hit with graffiti <br />messages such as "stop white supremacy." Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney has revealed <br />that he plans to take down the other statues <br />from Monument Avenue as well. Levar Stoney, <br />via statement Bill Gallasch, president of the <br />Monument Avenue Preservation Society, <br />opposes the decision to remove the monuments. According to AP, Gallasch believes removing the <br />statues will hurt tourism in Richmond and create <br />violence between groups on both sides of the issue.
