Confederate Soldiers and Sailors statue removed in Richmond

The Richmond, Va., statue known as Confederate Soldiers and Sailors was taken down on Wednesday, joining a growing list since Mayor Levar Stoney’s (D) order last week calling for the removal of Confederate statues from city property. 

Video of the removal Stoney shared on Facebook showed crews removing the monument from Libby Hill Park, where its base had been covered in Black Lives Matter graffiti.

The 100-foot-high statue was installed in 1894, according to NBC News. 

A statue of Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart was removed Tuesday from Richmond’s Monument Avenue, and statues of Naval Officer Matthew Fontaine Maury and Gen. Stonewall Jackson have also been taken down. 

Stoney last week ordered the immediate removal of all Confederate monuments from city property, calling it “past time” for them to come down. 

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has also called for the removal of a Richmond statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that is on state land. Northam’s order has been blocked by a temporary injunction issued in one of several lawsuits filed against it. 

Calls to remove Confederate statues have been amplified in recent weeks amid nationwide protests over police brutality and racial inequality sparked by the killing of George Floyd.