"In 2016, a high school student in Charlottesville, Virginia, launched a petition to remove a number of statues from public view. These included Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Thomas Jefferson, and others, a majority of which a businessman named Paul Goodloe McIntire commissioned in the early 20th century. Over time, these monuments were seen as glorifications of men who furthered Manifest Destiny and condoned slavery, and they continued as emblems of white supremacy."
"In July 2021, 100 years after its initial unveiling, Charlottesville removed the sculptures of Lee and Jackson. The former was melted down, and the latter was deeded to artist Kara Walker by way of a Los Angeles nonprofit called The Brick. It's here, as part of the exhibition MONUMENTS, that Walker has boldly re-envisioned the statue as a potent symbol of transformation."
In 2016 a Charlottesville high school student petitioned to remove public statues including Robert E. Lee, "Stonewall" Jackson, Lewis and Clark, and Thomas Jefferson, many commissioned by Paul Goodloe McIntire. Critics called the monuments glorifications of Manifest Destiny, complicit in slavery, and emblems of white supremacy. Legal challenges and the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally followed. Statues remained until 2020 Black Lives Matter protests after George Floyd's murder renewed removal efforts. In July 2021 Charlottesville removed Lee and Jackson; Lee was melted and Jackson was deeded to artist Kara Walker via The Brick. Walker re-envisioned the statue for the MONUMENTS exhibition and has created large-scale works confronting racist symbols, such as 2014's A Subtlety.
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