Monument Avenue Confederate Statues In Richmond Under New Scrutiny

RICHMOND, VA — Less than a week after the violence in Charlottesville, Richmond mayor Levar Stoney issued a statement Wednesday night saying he has instructed a hand-picked commission to explore the removal of the four Confederate statues on iconic Monument Avenue in the state's capital city. He previously formed the commission to look at ways to preserve the statues by adding context with things such as plaques.

"While we had hoped to use this process to educate Virginians about the history behind these monuments, the events of the last week may have fundamentally changed our ability to do so by revealing their power to serve as a rallying point for division and intolerance and violence," Stoney said in the statement. ". . .Effective immediately, the Monument Avenue Commission will include an examination of the removal and/or relocation of some or all of the confederate statues."

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His statement came the same day Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared he now believes Confederate statues throughout the state should be removed and relocated to places such as museums. He called them "a barrier to progress, inclusion and equality in Virginia."

Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, who's running for governor against the GOP's Ed Gillespie, agrees with his boss: “I believe these statutes should be taken down and moved into museums. As governor, I am going to be a vocal advocate for that approach and work with localities on this issue."

Gillespie disagreed: "I believe that decisions about historical statues are best made at the local level, but they should stay and be placed in historical context."

The statements came after last weekend's white supremacist rally in Charlottesville to protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue. Marchers, many shouting racist slogans and carrying tiki torches, ultimately clashed with counter-protesters. Heather Heyer, 32, was killed after a man drove his car through a crowd. Two policemen monitoring the situation from the air died when their helicopter crashed.

But taking down the Lee statue in Charlottesville is one thing. Taking down the statues along Monument Avenue is quite another. Towering statues of Lee, Jefferson Davis, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and J.E.B. Stuart stand prominently in the medians of the avenue. Monument Avenue and its immediate area is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Lee statue was the first, and it was built in 1890 — 25 years after the end of the Civil War.

But Richmond, mind you, also was the capital of the Confederacy. Having lived in the city for nine years, this reporter knows for a fact that many in the majority back city simply tolerate them if not despise them. Confederate flags and memorials are seen as a reminder of Southern heritage by some, while some if not most African-Americans — and many others — have said the legacy is one of slavery and hate.

As for the Confederate battle flag, it came under increasing scrutiny after Dylann Roof killed nine African-American churchgoers on June 17 during a Bible study in a Charleston, S.C. church. Images widely distributed of Roof show him holding a Confederate flag, and he reportedly told authorities he was attempting to start a race war.

Soon thereafter, then Gov. Nikki Haley, now the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, signed a bill to remove the flag from the grounds of the statehouse.

Watch: Why Confederate Monuments Exist In The First Place

Photos: City of Richmond