United States: Four years after protests, Charlottesville removed two of the city’s last symbols of slavery

The US city of Charlottesville on Saturday removed symbols of slavery and the racist past by dismantling several controversial statues, including those of two Confederate generals. which was at the origin of deadly clashes between far-right activists and anti-racist protesters in 2017.

The statues, of the general Robert Lee, leader of the pro-slavery southern army during the Civil War, and General Thomas “Stonewall” JacksonBoth in uniform and on horseback, they were in two small parks near the historic center of this city in the state of Virginia.

Municipality employees They dismantled the two statues with a crane, to the cheers and applause of several dozen people.

“Take off this statue it’s a little step towards the goal of helping Charlottesville, Virginia and the United States face the sin of going so far as to destroy black people for profit, ”the city’s mayor said, Nikuyah walker, before the start of operations.

In August In 2017, hundreds of far-right members protested against the municipality’s plan to remove these statues, which many see as symbols of America’s racist and slavery past.

At the end of this demonstration, clashes between white supremacists and counter-demonstrators.

Neo-Nazi sympathizer hit anti-racist activists with a car, killing a 32-year-old woman, Heather Heyer, and injuring dozens of people.

The then President of the United States, Donald Trump denounced the violence “on both sides”, causing an avalanche of criticism.

The statues now removed will be stored until the city council decides their fate, announced the city, which has received ten proposals from public or private bodies who want them back, including four from the state of Virginia.

Since the murder of the African American George Floyd by a white policeman, in May 2020, many monuments to the glory of the Confederate army were removed.

Charlottesville had already removed in September 2020 the statue of a confederate soldier erected in 1909.

Another statue, located in the center of the city and representing explorers whose discoveries led to the expansion of the white population towards the west To the detriment of indigenous communities, it was also dismantled after an emergency vote in town hall this afternoon.

The decision to dismantle it was taken in 2019, but “we decided to take the opportunity to have the equipment and the staff” this Saturday, told AFP a spokesperson for the municipality.

A fourth statue will be dismantled on Sunday at the University of Virginia campus, a spokesperson for the institution told AFP.

Represents a general who He fought against the British army and then after the war against the Indian tribes to allow the expansion of the white settlers.

With information from AFP

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