Two Confederate statues that sparked mass rallies that ended in fatalities have finally been taken down in Charlottesville. After years of campaigning, the statues of General Robert E. Lee and General Stonewall Jackson have finally been removed, per <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/08/us/charlottesville-confederate-statues/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>. The statues played a key part in the 2017 Unite The Right rally, which ended with Heather Heyer being killed after a neo-Nazi drove his truck into the crowd of counter-protesters. After her tragic death, the city planned on removing the controversial statues, however several people then launched lawsuits against the Virginia city in a desperate bid to block the removal of the statues. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/BeschlossDC/status/1413853269936463874]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/CAMcGrady/status/1413885054586167300]] Despite their efforts, The Supreme Court ruled in April that the city could remove the statues, overturning a circuit court’s 2017 decision to keep them in place. It's since been argued that having Confederate general statues pays tribute to America's history of slavery and racism. Then on Saturday, July 10, work finally began to remove the statues. The vote took place on Monday, July 5, and passed unanimously. After voting took place, residents were given 30 days to decide where the statues should be relocated to. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1413844444869181445]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/QasimRashid/status/1413841082534830084]] The city is requesting proposals "for any museum, historical society, government or military battlefield interested in acquiring the Statues, or either of them, for relocation and placement", per <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/08/us/charlottesville-confederate-statues/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>. Until a new home is found for the statues, they will remain in storage, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/10/charlottesville-statue-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian</a>. Brian Wheeler, director of communications for the City of Charlottesville, told <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/08/us/charlottesville-confederate-statues/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a> that after several years of intense effort, the city has "taken a major step forward towards telling a more complete history of our community. He said in a statement: "We look forward to transforming our downtown parks by removing these racist symbols of Charlottesville's past. "There remains much work to be done in Charlottesville's future as we work towards the goals of racial and economic justice, but this is an important milestone in that journey." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1413832388375945217]] In 2017, one White supremacist killed counterprotester, Heyer, and injured 19 others when he plowed his car into a crowd. Many more were injured in separate incidents during the weekend rally. Zyahna Bryant, who drafted a petition to Charlottesville City Council to remove the statues over five years ago as high school student, told <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/08/us/charlottesville-confederate-statues/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a> the decision to remove the statues is "a win" and more must be done. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/keithboykin/status/1413837952992653318]] She told the outlet: "I want to emphasize that this is not the end of the work to dismantle the very systems and structures that these statues represent, in fact, this is only the beginning - the removal of these statues is low-hanging fruit. "However, I want to be clear that there can be no unity and healing without reckoning with our full and complete history, one that includes the voices of those who have been traditionally silenced, marginalized, and erased; and a true commitment to racial equity through the redistribution of resources." <h6>Featured image credit: James Nesterwitz / Alamy</h6>

Charlottesville finally removes Confederate statues that sparked fatal rally

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