Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam: Robert E. Lee statue removed from U.S. Capitol

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Monday said the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee has been removed from the U.S. Capitol.

The monument is set to be moved to the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond after residing for 111 years in Washington.

The governor established the Commission for Historical Statues in the U.S. Capitol earlier this year to look into the removal and replacement of the monument. The commission was created following a wave of Confederate statue removals nationwide sparked by protests about racism and police brutality over the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis in May.

Each state is allowed to display two statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection, so the commission voted unanimously to replace the statue with Barbara Rose Johns. The civil rights icon, then 16 years old, led a student walkout in 1951 at a high school in Virginia to protest the unfair conditions of the all-Black school compared to those of the nearby all-White school.

Her protest caught the attention of NAACP attorneys who filed a lawsuit that became part of the five suits reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The historical case led to the 1954 ruling finding segregation unconstitutional.

Mr. Northam applauded the removal of the monument.

“The Confederacy is a symbol of Virginia’s racist and divisive history, and it is past time we tell our story with images of perseverance, diversity, and inclusion,” Mr. Northam said in a statement. “I look forward to seeing a trailblazing young woman of color represent Virginia in the U.S. Capitol, where visitors will learn about Barbara Johns’ contributions to America and be empowered to create positive change in their communities just like she did.”