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Virginia’s Gov. Ralph Northam Wants General Lee Statue Removed From Capitol Building


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I’m not sure who said this or where it came from, but it appears an apt quote to begin this article:

When all words have been censored. 

When all books have been burned. 

When all monuments have been removed.

When all history has been erased.

When all of your freedoms have been stolen.

Only then will you realize why…

When all of your guns were taken, what it 

would lead to.

New reports out today say that Virginia’s Democrat Gov. Ralph Northam wants the General Robert E. Lee statue removed from the capitol building.

From NBC Washington:

Gov. Ralph Northam’s office said Monday that he will push for legislation replacing Virginia’s statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee housed in the United States Capitol.

The governor filed a drafting request for a bill that would outline the process for removing the statue — one of Virginia’s two in the National Statuary Hall Collection — and selecting a replacement, Northam spokeswoman Alena Yarmosky said. 

 “As Virginians, we have a responsibility to not only learn from but also confront our history”

U.S. Reps. Jennifer Wexton and A. Donald McEachin wrote

The disclosure from Northam’s office came in response to questions about a letter from two Democratic members of Congress that called on Northam to make replacing the statue part of his agenda for the legislative session that begins next month. 

“As Virginians, we have a responsibility to not only learn from but also confront our history,” U.S. Reps. Jennifer Wexton and A. Donald McEachin wrote in a letter released Monday. `”As part of this responsibility, we must strive for a more complete telling of history by raising up the voices, stories, and memories of minorities and people of color.”

Yarmosky said Northam’s office had previously discussed the issue with McEachin and Wexton’s offices `”and we look forward to continuing to work with them and all others who are committed to making Virginia open, inclusive, and equitable.”

She said additional details about the legislation would be announced later. 

The National Statuary Hall Collection consists of 100 statues, two each from all 50 states, that honor notable people in their history. Virginia’s other statue is of George Washington. 

`”Virginia’s decision to donate the statue of Lee was a part of a national effort to rewrite the history of the South’s secession and rehabilitate the image of Confederate leaders,” said a press release from Wexton’s office.

And from Richmond.com:

Gov. Ralph Northam will push legislation in next year’s General Assembly session asking lawmakers to replace a statue of Robert E. Lee in the U.S. Capitol.

Lee and George Washington represent Virginia in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the Capitol. Virginia provided the statue of Lee, in his Confederate uniform, in 1909.

U.S. Reps. A. Donald McEachin, D-4th, and Jennifer Wexton, D-10th, wrote a letter to Northam on Friday asking him to push state legislation to notify the U.S. Capitol architect that Virginia would replace Lee with one of “countless commendable Virginians who would better represent our Commonwealth in the U.S. Capitol than a Confederate General.”

Northam spokesman Alena Yarmosky said Monday that the Northam administration has been working on the issue for several months and a bill will be filed for next year’s General Assembly session.

“We have discussed this issue previously with the offices of Rep. McEachin and Rep. Wexton, and we look forward to continuing to work with them and all others who are committed to making Virginia open, inclusive, and equitable,” she said by email.

McEachin and Wexton said in their letter that prominent Virginians such as Nat Turner, who led a slave rebellion, or educator and author Booker T. Washington are among those who would better represent Virginia in the National Statuary Hall Collection.



 

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