The American city of Charlottesville on Saturday debunked the statues of two Confederate generals, hated symbols of the slavery south of the United States, who had been at the origin of deadly clashes between far-right activists and anti-racist protesters in 2017.
These statues, of General Robert Lee, leader of the pro-slavery southern army during the Civil War, and of General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, both in uniform and on horseback, were in two small parks near the historic center. from this city in the state of Virginia.
“Removing this statue is a small step towards the goal of helping Charlottesville”
Workers from the municipality dismantled the two statues using a crane, in front of a few people and under cheers and applause, leaving only their pedestals which will be moved later. “Removing this statue is a small step towards the goal of helping Charlottesville, Virginia and America face the sin of having gone so far as to destroy black people for profit,” said the mayor of the city, Nikuyah Walker, before the start of operations.
In February 2017, the municipality had already authorized the removal of these statues, seen as symbols of America’s racist and slavery past. But in August of the same year, hundreds of members of the ultra-right had demonstrated under the banner of the movement “Unite the right”, to protest against this project. At the end of this rally, clashes broke out between white supremacists and counter-demonstrators.
The statues kept while waiting for the municipality to decide their fate
The latter had been targeted by a neo-Nazi sympathizer, who had driven on them in a car, killing a 32-year-old woman, Heather Heyer, and injuring dozens of people. President Donald Trump was content to denounce violence “on both sides”, drawing an avalanche of criticism.
The municipality then covered the two statues with black plastic in tribute to the victims of the violence. The statues will be kept until the city council decides their fate, announced the city, which has received ten proposals from public or private organizations wishing to recover them, including four from the state of Virginia.
Since the murder of African American George Floyd by a white policeman in May 2020, many monuments to the glory of the Confederate army have been removed, either by the authorities or by demonstrators protesting against racism in the United States. United.