Sep 12, 2021 - Politics & Policy

New capsule installed at base that held up Robert E. Lee statue

Rebecca Falconer

Workers remove the statue of Robert E. Lee at the Robert E. Lee Memorial during a removal September 8, 2021 in Richmond, Virginia. — Workers remove the statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, on Wednesday. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Workers in Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday installed a time capsule on current events in a pedestal that held a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee until its removal last week, AP first reported.

Why it matters: Civil rights advocates say such symbols pay deference to the U.S. history of slavery and racism. The capsule contains items related to anti-racism demonstrations that erupted after George Floyd's death in 2020, officials told AP.

Details: Among the items installed in the pedestal is a Black Lives Matter sticker and a photo of a Black ballerina "with her fist raised near the Lee statue during last summer's protests in Richmond," AP notes.

An old vial of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine was also included in the capsule.

The big picture: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) was hit by several lawsuits after announcing in June 2020 plans to remove the 60-foot-tall monument.

The Supreme Court of Virginia ruled earlier this month that officials could remove the statue, which Northam noted was the state's "largest monument to the Confederate insurrection."
Officials had tried after the statue's removal to find a late-19th century time capsule they believe was buried in the pedestal, but this didn't materialize.

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New capsule installed at base that held up Robert E. Lee statue

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