Robert E. Lee

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School Board Votes to Bring Back Confederate Names

Decision by Virginia's Shenandoah County school board came despite pushback

(Newser) - A Virginia school board has become the first in the country to restore school names honoring Confederate generals shortly after removing them. The school board in Shenandoah County, Virginia, on Friday approved a proposal to rename Mountain View High School to Stonewall Jackson High School and Honey Run Elementary School...

Robert E. Lee Statue Meets Its Fate
Robert E. Lee Statue
Meets Its Fate

Robert E. Lee Statue Meets Its Fate

Monument formerly in Charlottesville is destroyed in relatively secret fashion

(Newser) - A statue of Robert E. Lee that stoked much controversy in Charlottesville, Virginia , is no longer a statue. As the Washington Post and NPR reveal, the monument to the Confederate general has been melted down. The plan now is for the resulting bronze ingots to be turned into an as-yet...

National Cathedral Replaces Images of Robert E. Lee

Dedication ceremony christens racial justice theme in stained-glass windows

(Newser) - The landmark Washington National Cathedral unveiled new stained-glass windows Saturday with a theme of racial justice, filling the space that had once held four windows honoring Confederate Gens. Robert E. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. The new windows depict a march for justice by African Americans, descendants of the...

West Point to Yank Robert E. Lee
West Point to
Yank Robert E. Lee

West Point to Yank Robert E. Lee

Portrait, bust will quietly be put in storage

(Newser) - Robert E. Lee was a noted West Point alumnus and served as its superintendent before he commanded the Confederate army during the Civil War, but his alma mater is using the current holiday break to scrub itself of his presence. As the Hill reports, the United States Military Academy is...

2nd Time Likely the Charm for Time Capsule Found in Robert E. Lee Statue
Books, Ammo Found in
Lee Statue Time Capsule
UPDATED

Books, Ammo Found in Lee Statue Time Capsule

This one was the right box, experts say

(Newser) - Update: Dozens of Civil War-era artifacts were recovered Tuesday from an 1887 time capsule found in a pedestal that once held a statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia. Conservators say they recovered books, buttons, Confederate money, and Minie balls, a type of ammunition, from the copper box, the...

With Removal of Statue Comes Rare Find
With Removal of Statue
Comes Rare Find
UPDATED

With Removal of Statue Comes Rare Find

Crews working to take down a Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond discovered a time capsule

(Newser) - Update: Inside the base of a Robert E. Lee statue recently taken down in Richmond, Virginia, were books and other texts, a coin, and an envelope. Conservators chipped the time capsule out of the granite box Tuesday, and preservationists unsealed it Wednesday, NPR reports. Inside, they found just a fraction...

Charlottesville Makes a Call on Its Robert E. Lee Statue

Monument will be melted down to be made into arts project by local nonprofit

(Newser) - It hasn't been clear what would happen to Charlottesville's Robert E. Lee statue, after it was hoisted off its stone pedestal in July, but the City Council has now made its decision: A local Black-led nonprofit will melt down the controversial Confederate monument and turn it into a...

Lee Statue Is Gone, but Search for 'Piece of History' Continues
Search for Time Capsule
in Lee Statue Is a Bust
UPDATED

Search for Time Capsule in Lee Statue Is a Bust

Crews in Richmond found no sign of the items from 1887

(Newser) - Update: They couldn't find it. Workers who dismantled the giant Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, Va., struck out Thursday in their search for a time capsule thought to have been tucked into the pedestal more than a century ago, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch . It's possible, though unlikely,...

Trump Weighs In on Fallen Lee Statue

'Our culture is being destroyed'

(Newser) - As one might imagine, former President Trump was not pleased with Virginia's removal of a Robert E. Lee statue Wednesday. "To add insult to injury, those who support this ‘taking’ now plan to cut it into three pieces, and throw this work of art into storage prior...

One of Our Largest Remaining Statues to Confederacy Falls

Robert E. Lee removed from pedestal on which he stood in Richmond, Va.

(Newser) - Update: A statue of Robert E. Lee that stood in Richmond, Va., for 131 years has come down. The Times-Dispatch reports it was hoisted off its pedestal to cheers at 8:55am. The AP , which calls it one of America’s largest remaining monuments to the Confederacy, reports it will...

As the Statue Came Down in Charlottesville, Cheers

Monument to Robert E. Lee is removed from pedestal in Va. park

(Newser) - A Confederate monument that helped spark a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., has been hoisted off its stone pedestal. Work to remove the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee began early Saturday morning. Crews were also expected to take down a second Confederate monument for Lt. Gen. Thomas...

Statue That Sparked Violence in Charlottesville Coming Down

City removing tributes to Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson

(Newser) - A Confederate monument that helped spark a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, will be taken down this weekend. The city said in a news release that the equestrian statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee as well as a nearby one of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson...

Pressure Builds for Answers on Confederate Carving

Two sides' positions seem set in stone as decisions on new exhibit near

(Newser) - Crowds are growing larger at the monthly meetings of the Georgia board considering what to do about the giant carving of Confederacy leaders in Stone Mountain. But officials seem no closer to an answer. The Stone Mountain Memorial Association decided to make a few changes last month, but they weren'...

Virginia University Won't Ditch Robert E. Lee's Name

Washington and Lee will remain just that

(Newser) - Washington and Lee University in Virginia is keeping its name intact. The school announced Friday that it won't drop "Lee," an homage to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, a former school president, reports the Richmond Times Dispatch . The Lexington university had been studying the issue for about...

University of Texas Decides Its Song Isn't Racist

Dropping 'The Eyes of Texas' had met with outrage

(Newser) - The title is a twist on something Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee said, and it made its debut in a minstrel show, but "The Eyes of Texas" will continue to be sung at the end of football games. A University of Texas committee charged with studying the history of...

Virginia Switches Out Capitol Statue of Robert E. Lee

A 16-year-old civil rights leader will be honored instead of the Confederate general

(Newser) - For 111 years, Robert E. Lee has held a place of honor in the US Capitol's Statuary Hall, next to George Washington. But "Confederate images do not represent who we are in Virginia," said a state legislator who led a commission that urged removing Lee's statue....

John Lewis' Name Takes Over for Robert E. Lee's

Fairfax, Virginia, high school renamed after civil rights icon

(Newser) - One of the nation's many Robert E. Lee High Schools will soon no longer be named after the Confederate general. The Fairfax, Virginia, school will be re-named John R. Lewis High School, effective this school year, after a unanimous vote by the school board Thursday, USA Today reports. "...

Activist Confronts School Board Member, Goes Viral

Gary Chambers wasn't having it when Connie Bernard defended school named for Robert E. Lee

(Newser) - An activist who showed up at a Louisiana school board meeting has gone viral after he confronted one board member who defended keeping the name of a school named after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and seemed to be shopping online during the Thursday meeting, per ABC News . "I...

Governor Wants 'Divisive Symbol' Gone, Judge Says Hold Up

Attempt to remove Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, Va., is temporarily blocked

(Newser) - Virginia Gov. Ralph Northham last week ordered the removal of an iconic statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Richmond "as soon as possible"—but now a judge is saying not so fast. On Monday, a judge in the former capital of the Confederacy issued a temporary...

Taking Lee Down Is a First Step: Descendant
Please Take
Down My
Ancestor's
Statue
opinion

Please Take Down My Ancestor's Statue

Descendant of Robert E. Lee makes the case in Virginia

(Newser) - Robert W. Lee IV grew up with a Confederate flag displayed in his room, taught that the Confederacy was a just cause fought to preserve states' rights. Now an adult, father and pastor of a Christian church, Lee broadened his education and understanding of the Lost Cause and its...

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