Virginia museum proposes melting Robert E. Lee statue to make new artwork

FILE – The statue of Robert E. Lee is seen uncovered in Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Va., on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. Charlottesville said in a news release Friday, July 9, 2021, that the equestrian statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee as well as a nearby one of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson will be taken down Saturday, July 10, 2021. (Zack Wajsgras/The Daily Progress via AP)

by: The Daily Progress via The Associated Press

Posted: Oct 22, 2021 / 07:42 AM EDT

Updated: Oct 22, 2021 / 07:42 AM EDT

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A Virginia museum is proposing to melt down a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that was the focus of a violent white nationalist rally in 2017 in Charlottesville. It then wants to create a new work of public art from it.

The Daily Progress reports that the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center submitted its proposal last week to Charlottesville’s city council and city manager.

The council voted to remove the statues of Lee and Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson in June.

It sought statements of interest from those interested in ownership of one or both of the statues, which were removed in July.

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