Virginia’s state Capitol removes Confederate busts

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and several busts from the same era were taken out of a room in the Virginia state Capitol Thursday night at the direction of House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn.

Filler-Corn, a Democrat, said the removal of the statue and busts, located in the Old House Chamber, was supervised by a professional conservator, and the objects were moved to an undisclosed location this morning.

She said in a press release she has the authority to remove them under the Virginia constitution and the rules of the House, which is set by the speaker and voted on by the delegates every regular session. Democrats control both chambers of the General Assembly.

“Virginia has a story to tell that extends far beyond glorifying the Confederacy and its participants. The Confederacy’s primary objective in the Civil War was to preserve an ideology that maintained the enslavement of human beings,” she said.

“Now is the time to provide context to our Capitol to truly tell the Commonwealth’s whole history.”

In removing the Confederate objects, she’s also created an Advisory Group on the State Capitol Artifacts and pegged Democratic Delegate Dolores McQuinn to chair it.

“The artifacts at the Capitol are a painful reminder of the deep-rooted wounds of slavery and 401 years of oppression. These Confederate artifacts are constant reminders of individuals who had no intentions of guaranteeing justice, equality and equity for all,” McQuinn said.

In addition to the Lee statue, eight artifacts that represent people who “participated in the Confederacy” were removed from the chamber, according to the release.

All of the objects were purchased or gifted to the state and placed in the chamber between 1872 and 1934.

The Lee statue, weighing 900 pounds and made of bronze, was located exactly where Lee stood on April 23, 1861, when he accepted command of the armed forces of Virginia from then Gov. John Letcher.