RICHMOND, Va. – The final remnants of Confederate monuments in Richmond could be gone this summer. Plans are coming together to remove the final city-owned statue and all the pedestals they once stood upon, according to NBC12 reporting.
“It doesn’t have to be proliferated with painful trinkets of white supremacy,” said Mike Jones, Richmond City Council.
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Tuesday will mark the first hurdle for the plans to remove the final pieces of Confederate monuments in Richmond. That’s when the city’s Commission of Architectural Review will see the plans for six sites, mainly along Monument Avenue.
“I think we have drawn this out as long as we can and as longer than it should have been. I know that so many Richmonders are just ready for this saga to be over so we can put a pin in this portion of our painful past,” said Jones.
The A.P. Hill statue has remained because Hill’s remains are inside the monument located on Laburnum Avenue. But the plans call for all that to be removed and improve the busy intersection there.
“It’s actually where he’s buried and so there’s the whole family kind of involvement and relationship there for the discussions about what we do with that site,” said Andreas Addison, Richmond City Council.
The intersection where Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s statue once stood will also be fully cleared. Other statue locations will become green space including where J.E.B Stuart was removed.
In a statement to NBC12, Barry Isenhour with Virginia Flaggers blasted the city’s move saying, “It comes as no surprise to us that the degenerates in Richmond have announced plans to desecrate the grave of a war veteran by literally digging up his remains, in their ongoing quest to eliminate any trace of the city’s history and heritage which might happen to ‘offend’ the small, but a vocal mob of social justice terrorists. As Thomas Carlyle observed, ‘It takes men of worth to recognize worth in men.’ That leaves those in charge in Richmond out.”
Meanwhile, the price tag for this part of the removal stands at $232,870.
Individual costs are as followed:
- A.P. Hill - $33,440
- Matthew Maury - $35,605
- Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson - $36,070
- Jefferson Davis - $40,659
- Confederate Canon - $5,232
- J.E.B. Stuart - $47,808
- Soldiers and Sailors - $34,056
It’s money Councilor Jones says is a wise investment.
“We should reclaim those spaces and so those types of things,” said Jones.
You can review the city’s plans by clicking here.
The Robert E. Lee statue also remains standing in Richmond. It’s owned by the state and caught up in a lawsuit right now. A hearing is scheduled for June 8 before the Virginia Supreme Court.