Richmond has awarded a contract for removing the city’s last major Confederate statue and the pedestals where other Civil War monuments once stood.

Crews have halted searching for the day for a time capsule from 1887 believed buried in the pedestal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that once towered over Richmond.

A towering statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Richmond is about to come down this week.

RICHMOND, Va. – Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has announced a proposal to spend $25 million to transform historical sites in Virginia, including the Richmond spot where a soaring statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee became a focal point of protests against racism. Northam said at a news conference Friday that nearly $11 million of the money would be used to reconstruct Richmond’s Monument Avenue, a historical boulevard that was lined with the Lee statue and other Confederate monuments for more than a century. His budget proposal would require the approval of the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.

BOTETOURT COUNTY, Va. – The Confederate monument in front of the Botetourt County Courthouse is likely to be on the move and should end up in one of two places. That is what the Committee on Monuments and Memorials in Botetourt County is set to recommend to the Board of Supervisors next month. In mid-2020, county leaders set their eyes on the monument and formed the committee. Board of Supervisors member Steve Clinton is a member and said early on their decision was clear. “I’m sure the recommendation will have a great deal of influence on what the board decides, but the final decision is in the hands of the board of supervisors,” Clinton said.

As recently as a few years ago, the removal of Richmond’s collection of Confederate monuments seemed nearly impossible, even as other tributes to rebel leaders around the U.S. started falling. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and the city council committed to removing the statues, something the Democrat-led General Assembly had authorized earlier in the year. Henry said the city’s Department of Public Works asked him in mid-June if he would be interested in the statue project. Stuart’s statue, Henry mused about his participation in two very different projects reflecting this moment in the story of race and America. And he helped remove the Richmond statues, which he called tools of oppression against Black Americans.

ROCKY MOUNT, Va. – A group of protesters took their opposition of Franklin County’s Confederate monument to the street Saturday afternoon. The “Caravan For Justice" slowed their cars and honked their horns outside of the Franklin County Courthouse in Rocky Mount. Voters in Franklin County will decide whether or not to relocate the statue during the November election. “It’s time to move Franklin County forward," Turnage, who is Black, said. My daughter wants to be a lawyer; she can’t walk in that building and be a lawyer.”A Confederate monument has stood tall outside of the courthouse since 1910.

Ralph Northam plans to remove the Robert E. Lee statue from Monument Avenue in Richmond, a Confederate monument in Roanoke could also be removed. Monument in question is the obelisk across the street from Roanoke City Hall in Robert E. Lee Plaza. Prior to voting for the monument’s removal, a public hearing would have to be held, said Cobb. If the monument is removed, council members will have 30 days to decide what to do with it. Council members had not decided Thursday what may happen to the monument if it is removed.