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Yesterday I filed a brief explaining why @GovernorVA can and should remove the state-owned Lee Monument. The case will be heard tomorrow, so let me run you through some of the highlights of our brief. First, let’s be clear about what this statue actually is (1/6)
Our brief explains that the statue, and others like it, were part of the Lost Cause propaganda campaign to distort the history and true motivations of the Confederacy. The statue is, in other words, one giant lie (2/6)
Even when the Lee statue was raised, there were those—including African-American newspaper editor John Mitchell—who saw the statue for exactly what it was, understood the message it was meant to convey, and knew its implications (3/6)
The statue was also a business development gimmick used to sell homes and real estate in the neighborhood and to entrench segregation through the use of racially restrictive covenants (4/6)
Virginia has come a long way since that statue went up. It does not represent who we are today or who we want to be in the future (5/6)
Finally, it's in the public interest for the Lee statue to come down. It's a reminder of a past that should not be celebrated. Each day it stands cuts a deeper wound into the hearts & minds of those who have endured the pain of systemic racism and injustice for far too long (6/6)
