Charlottesville Controversial Robert E. Lee Statue Melted Down

A statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee that stirred controversy and was a focal point of a deadly White Supremacist rally in 2017 has been melted down and will be used to make works of art.

The initiative, called "Swords Into Plowshares," is led by Charlottesville’s nonprofit Jefferson School African-American Heritage Center. According to the project's website, they plan on "including local community members as co-creators in the conception and design of the artwork."

The statue is being melted in a local foundry outside of Virginia, according to NPR.

The statue was taken down in 2021, five years after a local high schooler filed a petition for its removal.

The project faced a number of lawsuits and motions before they could move on with the plan to transform the statue.