Officials in Richmond, Va., removed a statue of Gen. Stonewall Jackson on Wednesday, the same day the mayor ordered the immediate removal of all Confederate monuments in the city.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney’s (D) decision came after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) last month also announced his intent to remove a state-owned statue of Robert E. Lee in the city.
“As the capital city of Virginia, we have needed to turn this page for decades. And today we will,” Stoney said in a Wednesday address announcing the order.
“Since the end of Richmond’s official tenure as the capital of the Confederacy 155 years ago, we have been burdened with that legacy,” he added. “These statues, although symbolic, have cast a shadow on the dreams of our children of color. By removing them, we can begin to heal and focus our attention on our future.”
The Richmond City Council has not voted on a resolution proposed by Stoney ordering the immediate removal of the remaining Confederate statues, but he said that the city did not need to leave the statues on their pedestals as they go through the formal removal process.
The removal of the Jackson statue comes amid a renewed push nationwide to remove monuments to Confederate leaders and other historical figures associated with racism in the U.S. in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.