Richmond Mayor Orders Removal Of Confederate Statues

RICHMOND, VA — Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney ordered the immediate removal of city-owned Confederate statues Wednesday, citing emergency powers. The removal comes as a new state law took effect, allowing localities to start the process of removing, relocating, contextualizing, or covering war memorials or monuments.

Stoney said the work of removing statues from their pedestals will happen over several days. A crowd gathered to watch the removal of the "Stonewall" Jackson statue on Monument Avenue Wednesday, according to social media reports.

The order does not apply to the Robert E. Lee statue, which is owned by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Gov. Ralph Northam had ordered the removal of the Lee statue and left the tasks to the Virginia Department of General Services. A Richmond judge had indefinitely extended an injunction delaying the statue's removal. According to the Washington Post, the next hearing will happen on July 23.

Stoney said keeping the Confederate statues up poses a continued risk to public safety. In the aftermath of George Floyd's May 25 death in Minneapolis police custody, protesters against racial injustice and police brutality have been gathering at the Lee monument and other Confederate statues. Earlier in June, statues of Jefferson Davis and Williams Carter Wickham were brought down by protesters. State and local officials closed the Lee monument grounds nightly from sunset to sunrise beginning on June 22.

"Failing to remove the statues now poses a severe, immediate and growing threat to public safety," said Stoney. "For the last 33 consecutive days, people have been gathering in large numbers in our city. And as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge and protesters attempt to take down Confederate statues themselves or confront others who are also doing so, the risk grows for serious illness, injury or death."

The mayor said the removal will also "expedite the healing process for the city, a former capital of the Confederacy constantly grappling with that legacy."

Localities' authority to remove Confederate war memorial monuments or memorials came as a new state law took effect on July 1. On June 3, Stoney said he would introduce a statue removal ordinance when the July 1 state law took effect. However, he changed course Wednesday, saying he is using emergency powers to order the removal.

Here is more information on the process from the new Virginia law:

Prior to removing, relocating, contextualizing, or covering any such publicly owned monument or memorial, the local governing body shall publish notice of such intent in a newspaper having general circulation in the locality. The notice shall specify the time and place of a public hearing at which interested persons may present their views, not less than 30 days after publication of the notice. After the completion of the hearing, the governing body may vote whether to remove, relocate, contextualize, or cover the monument or memorial. If the governing body votes to remove, relocate, contextualize, or cover the monument or memorial, the local governing body shall first, for a period of 30 days, offer the monument or memorial for relocation and placement to any museum, historical society, government, or military battlefield.

According to a city news release, a 60-day process will begin to seek public feedback and determine the future of the statues. Removed statues will be put in storage as this process takes place.

SEE ALSO: New Virginia Laws Take Effect On July 1: Guns, Casinos, Voter ID