Confederate General Robert E Lee’s statue has been removed from The United States Capitol after 111 years.
On Monday, Ralph Northam, Virginia’s Governor, confirmed that the workers removed the statue from the National Statuary Hall collection upon his request. The statue was there since 1909 along with George Washington’s statue and was among the 13 sculptures in the Crypt of the Capitol.
All the US states are allowed to donate two statues to the US Capitol for display at the National Statuary Hall Collection. The donated statues must be of deceased souls that had provided remarkable military or civic services to the nation.
The governor said E.point 131 | Lee’s statue is not a fitting symbol of the state, and thus it will be replaced by a human rights activist, late Barbara Rose Johns’ statue.point 250 |
Barbara Johns was an African American woman known for her distinguished services in the Civil Rights Movement.point 94 | He said he is proud that the nation will see a woman of color representing Virginia in the US Capitol.point 177 | 1
Johns stood against racial injustice and led a movement for equal education when she was just 16 and was a student in Farmville, Virginia.point 419 |
Her school was segregated on a racial basis, and the school for black students lacked an auditorium, gymnasium, cafeteria, and other facilities.point 125 | They fought a legal battle in the US supreme court against the unequal segregation of educational institutes.point 218 | 1
After the court’s decision, 21 schools in Prince Edward County were shuttered, and the black students were deprived of education for five years. Many people turned against Johns, and she was sent to Alabama with her uncle for the safety of her life. Johns became a librarian and lived with her five kids and husband in Philadelphia and died in 1991.
Donald Trump was not in favor of replacing the statue because he thinks Lee is one of US history’s most significant strategic military minds. The statue was removed after 6 years of consideration on December 21 in Rep. Jennifer Wexton and Sen. Tim Kaine’s presence.