3. The Impact of Charlottesville on Monument Avenue

On August 12, 2017, the “Unite the Right” rally was held by white supremacists and white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia to protest the removal of a Confederate statue of Robert E. Lee. Counter protests ensued and the protest culminated in violence which lasted for several days. The horrific violence in Charlottesville was televised and it left an enduring wound in the US and dramatically affected Monument Avenue in Richmond. Mayor Levar Stoney spoke candidly about Charlottesville and its relationship to Monument Avenue, “Let me be clear: we will not tolerate allowing these statues and their history to be used as a pretext for hate and violence, or to allow our city to be threatened by white supremacists and neo-Nazi thugs. We will protect our city and keep our residents safe.”

In the Monument Avenue Commission Report (MAC) of July 2018, it was stated that the Richmond City Council already had plans to remove all the confederate monuments prior to the tragic events of Charlottesville which led to the creation of the MAC. Charlottesville provided Mayor Stoney and MAC with a sense of urgency to remove the monuments as stated in his response to the rally. The “Unite the Right'' rally provoked the MAC to hold a public forum in August 2017 and over 500 people attended. Discussing the matter a year after the incident, ABC News journalist Meghan Keneally interviewed Richmond residents about the impact of the protests and the violence on the city.

As of July 10, 2021, the City Council of Charlottesville, removed the statues of both Confederate Generals, Robert E. Lee, and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson who were the major galvanizing figures of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally.  Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker said, “Taking down this statue is one small step closer to the goal of helping Charlottesville, Virginia, and America, grapple with the sin of being willing to destroy Black people for economic gain.” [1] The Charlottesville’s statues of Lee and Jackson were erected in the 1920s and were celebrated with ceremonies including Confederate veteran reunions.  Their erection coincided with the agenda of the South to validate the Confederacy and suppress Black communities.[2] Following the “Unite the Right” public responses, the city council voted on August 20, 2017 to shroud both Lee and Jackson statues in black.[3] Following the city council’s decision, both statutes were vandalized repeatedly with politically motivated graffiti.