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good morning to everyone except this confederate statue - it’s about to have a bad morning https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1304544722673979392
there he is, in his final hour
the city couldn’t block off the sidewalk along jefferson street at 5th street to pedestrian access because of the residences that face the street. there’s a bit of standing room, although i expect police won’t allow a crowd due to COVID restrictions.
the county will be livestreaming the removal process starting a little later this morning https://twitter.com/albemarlecounty/status/1304578146667237376
two public works trucks have entered the barricaded off area. no sign of any heavy equipment yet.
johnny reb was erected in 1909, in the wake of the adoption of virginia’s new very anti-black state constitution https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1291159262534799363
the chair of the committee that planned for the statue’s purchase & installation was the prosecutor at the courthouse it stands in front of. the same prosecutor & the same courthouse that denied justice to john henry james, who was lynched in 1898. https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1155108690690760712
the planning process for this statue took place during a time period when reconstruction was being undone in virginia https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1204226963789025281
at the dedication for the statue, a confederate veteran called it a restoration of virginia’s values. coming on the heels of massive disenfranchisement of black virginians, it’s pretty clear what he thought those values were.
schoolchildren waved confederate flags & sang dixie. https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1271235938702721029
schoolchildren waved confederate flags & sang dixie. https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1271235938702721029
this statue marked this space, the park & the courthouse it guards, as white space, pushing back against the presence of now-free black people in society https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1211013270506737664
this statue doesn’t even honor a particular individual, but the local confederate veterans in general. these men came from local slave patrols. during the war, the men of the 19th virginia infantry abducted free black people and sold them back into slavery. https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1291153707724345346
a small crowd has gathered here on the sidewalk before sunrise to see the statue off
here comes the big equipment
the sun is coming up but the statue is coming down
the company handling the removal has covered their license plate and company logo. other companies doing statue removals have gotten credible threats from confederate weirdos, i’m sure they’re no different.
it looks like they’re trying to get the plaques off the plinth
they’re digging out the little pile of cannon balls
a community member is passing out little union soldier caps to folks here to watch the statue come down (modeled here by @MarleyNichelle, who is taking some great photos!)
the plaque is off the front of the plinth
a friend noted that the place we were standing on fifth street was a great place to view the removal. it’s true - it was designed that way. https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1155108037927067648
another plaque off the plinth & straps are going on the cannonballs
sorry to everyone present - i keep involuntarily shouting YESSSSS every time a piece of equipment moves
the cannons are strapped in, ready to move
the antifa cheering section
the cannon dribbled a little
we lack the technology of a civil war artillery unit
they got the cannon (but we got the guillotine)
one cannon down. one cannon, the cannon balls, the statue, and the plinth still to go.
cannon two is in the air
cannon two on the truck
the albemarle county courthouse without confederate cannons, for the first time since 1909
this statue honors men of the slave patrol who watched john brown hang. today, john brown’s body plays as a ladder goes up against the statue for its removal. https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1291153707724345346
a workman is inspecting the place where the statue is attached to the plinth. i think there are a lot of unknowns about the specifics of the structure.
a workman has put on a harness
johnny reb gettin’ strapped in for a little ride
@ZyahnaB with the mic:
“were still only taking these small representations of white supremacy down,” she says. we’re making the courthouse LOOK more equitable without reckoning with the institutional racism that takes place inside.
“were still only taking these small representations of white supremacy down,” she says. we’re making the courthouse LOOK more equitable without reckoning with the institutional racism that takes place inside.
gooooooodbye johnny
the time capsule buried at the base of the statue was meant to remain “until the angel Gabriel shall put one foot on the land and one in the sea, and proclaim that ‘time shall be no more.’”
it’s getting dug up today & will go to UVA’s special collection. https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/here-are-the-mostly-confederate-mementos-in-johnny-rebs-time-capsule/?fbclid=IwAR1A6TJv4bgA5nJyUAplXr5KUdybS2-XQz_i5uantsxjH-wl3tRdE-tCw-c
it’s getting dug up today & will go to UVA’s special collection. https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/here-are-the-mostly-confederate-mementos-in-johnny-rebs-time-capsule/?fbclid=IwAR1A6TJv4bgA5nJyUAplXr5KUdybS2-XQz_i5uantsxjH-wl3tRdE-tCw-c
johnny is being unscrewed from the plinth
get up off of that thing, indeed
i don’t know where they have the camera capturing this closeup (on the crane arm maybe?), but the county’s livestream has a great look at what’s happening
https://www.facebook.com/Albemarle.County/videos/318192269452093/
https://www.facebook.com/Albemarle.County/videos/318192269452093/
a comment from the livestream... john, albemarle county does not have a statue of barack obama. i think there’s one in south dakota? you should call city hall in rapid city & let them know how you feel.
something??? is happening??
i do not know what kind of tool this is but i bet at least ten men will tell me
“it is disappointing to me that it is going to a battlefield,” says dr andrea douglas of the jefferson school african american heritage center. she says it is not possible to “contextualize” this object.
dr douglas says the board of supervisors came to the conclusion that the statue is an object that is inappropriate for this space, but didn’t go far enough to conclude that the object is itself simply inappropriate in any context.
dr douglas is an art historian & gives tours of these confederate statues along with @Jalane_Schmidt. their work has contributed immensely to my own understanding of these objects and the role they play here. https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1155106915539705856
the drilling continues. the crowd is eager for some excitement.
the 19th virginia infantry loses again today https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1291154325201453056
my state delegate, @SallyLHudson, is here! without her work on the bill passed by the general assembly earlier this year making it legal to remove confederate monuments, we wouldn’t be here watching a guy on a ladder drill holes in johnny reb.
a workman is now using a hammer & chisel on the statue’s base.
it’s been over an hour since they put the straps on.
it’s been over an hour since they put the straps on.
it’s.... hammer time
the ladder is going away. i think it’s time.
damn, the ladder is back
we ARE on the edge of our seats!
they’re torturing us
a board has been inserted under the base
i don’t know what the board accomplished but we have lift off
two guys working, five guys commenting
c’mon get him outta here
oh no the ladder is back 
more straps for johnny
johnny reb is off his pedestal
another confederate defeat
johnny’s headed for the truck
just another confederate holdout in a pickup truck being run out of charlottesville
johnny gets a blankie & a hug
workmen considering the empty plinth. it’s raining now.
the time capsule is supposedly inside a cavity in the statue’s base. i’m not totally sure what that means! https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1304765222759141376
oh, the top isn’t attached!
i didn’t expect this! how exciting.
johnny reb has left the area
the workers are taking a well deserved lunch break. hopefully they’ll rest long enough for me to run home & let the dogs out. i’ve been gone since 5:30! i didn’t think this would take so long!
perfect timing - i’m back in time to see the straps going on the next piece of the base
what!! another tiny separate piece!
more! straps!
SURELY we are getting close to that confederate time capsule
the portion of the plinth that bore the confederate flag has been removed & placed on the truck
all that’s left now is the naked base, with its confederate plaques stripped away
without the cannons, the cannonballs look like a big pile of poop
they’ve removed the confederate cannonballs (some very obvious jokes were made about this throughout the morning)
the strappening continues.
the rest of the base will go on another truck, it looks like - the one with the first half of the plinth has moved out of the way.
the rest of the base will go on another truck, it looks like - the one with the first half of the plinth has moved out of the way.
boards going under the stone now - will they lift it with the fork lift? reposition straps underneath? i think the latter.
stripped of plaques, strapped in, ready to ride
there are so many layers to this racist cake
they used the fork lift to nudge this piece of the base off the edge a little bit so straps could be slid underneath it. very clever!
another big rock on the move
another layer!
how did they get these big rocks in place in 1909?!
what a difference eight hours makes
one of the workmen says the last piece of the base weighs 12,000 pounds. there is a depression in the stone where some kind of hook was likely attached to it, but there’s no sign of any rebar or hooks still present.
the big rock is very heavy
have we unleashed the angel gabriel?
it’s just rocks on rocks on rocks over here
there goes a six ton rock
the time capsule?? has sarcophagus juice???
you can sort of see on the county’s livestream the small hollow in the stone base they are reaching into & scooping out confederate juice & pieces of... something
a big unwieldy rock & some wet racist paperwork in a hole in the ground
the county’s livestream has some helpful voiceover about what’s in the mysterious hole https://www.facebook.com/Albemarle.County/videos/318192269452093/
“the garbage can lid on top is not a long term solution,” says emily kilroy, the albemarle county director of communications of the confederate time capsule situation
a seemingly in tact copper box has been found inside the hole in the base of johnny reb. it’s being left closed to preserve its contents for examination by UVA special collections.
the angel gabriel has not yet made an appearance. https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1304765222759141376
i’m not exactly sure why i thought i would be home by late morning to take a nap on the couch after getting up at 4:45 to watch this statue’s last sunrise in my city.
they’re moving away the plywood they used to protect the bricks from the machinery, so i guess they aren’t digging out the final piece of the base
oooh i think they’re gonna smash it up!!
yes so apparently some of the concrete is going to be smashed to widen the hole so the time capsule can be gently lifted out
release the time capsule from the gross juice pit!!!
the two trucks carrying the base of the statue have departed
don’t worry - the bricks are BEING PROTECTED
every piece that is going to the shenandoah valley battlefields foundation has departed. the remaining concrete is being jackhammered out.
in addition to the jackhammer, they’re now taking a giant circular saw to the concrete.
don’t worry, the big wet time capsule is protected by the trash can lid
county communications director emily kilroy says they’ve dug down two feet and still not found the bottom of the concrete slab, which had previously been estimated to be about 18 inches thick.
oh this could take a while
the jackhammer operator just called out “three feet!”
that’s three feet, and counting??, of solid concrete
that’s three feet, and counting??, of solid concrete
i didn’t want to jinx it, but i think now that the crowd is gone, the statue is gone, and we’re just waiting on the concrete to get smashed, it’s safe to safe: i’m honestly shocked no angry racists showed up to yell at anyone.
a still from the county’s livestream - it looks like they are now carefully jackhammering around the rim of the hole where the time capsule is. the box fits too tightly in the hole to be lifted out without damaging it, which would get its contents wet, destroying them.
everyone gather round the mystery pit
a little bit more of the pit needs to be chipped away before they can try to remove the time capsule. the hole is full of water, so any damage to the box or opening of the lid will destroy the papers inside.
emily kilroy says they’ve got the box! it’s about 12x12”, 6” deep. it looks like the original pouring of the concrete foundation caused the sides of the box to collapse. “it’s in pretty bad shape.”
“we don’t expect to be able to retrieve or recover” much of the box’s contents, most of which was paper, kilroy says. UVA special collections called in via facetime & advised them not to tip out the water that had flooded the box.
it sounds like this time capsule was destroyed in its own creation - it never stood a chance. much like the confederacy, it was not built to last.
this ruined time capsule is about as useful for learning history as the confederate statue that used to stand on top of it https://twitter.com/craftypanda/status/1304890254474780674
