Jefferson Davis was vandalized and toppled in Richmond, Virginia.
The statue of the Confederate president was vandalized and torn down by the people during the Uprising of 2020.1 The statue, formerly located on Monument Avenue, was quickly removed on a flatbed truck after being ripped from its pedestal.
Jefferson Davis served as the President of the Confederate States during the US Civil War. Richmond, Virginia acted as the capital of the Confederacy. Davis owned over 100 enslaved people.2 Nearly two years prior to its removal by the people, the Monument Avenue Commission, a panel appointed to explore the possibility of removing the statues, recommended removing the Davis memorial.3
The debate over Richmond’s confederate statues is not new. Following the Unite the Right rally in nearby Charlottesville, and President Donald Trump’s comments about statues being removed, the discussion quickly focused to Richmond’s statues.4 Progress was slow, but during the Uprising of 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced that the massive statue of Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue would be removed.5 Shortly after, a judge enjoined that decision for ten days.6 The Jefferson Davis memorial was toppled during the ten-day injunction period.
References
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WATCH NOW: Statue of Jefferson Davis torn down on Monument Avenue ↩︎
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Richmond monument panel urges removing Jefferson Davis statue ↩︎
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Richmond mayor on Confederate monument debate: Trump ‘doesn’t live here’ ↩︎
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Virginia governor announces removal of Robert E. Lee statue from Richmond as city reckons with Confederate monuments ↩︎
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Richmond judge blocks the state’s removal of Robert E Lee statue ↩︎