The statue of Robert E. Lee, which became the center of a white nationalist rally in Virginia, will be turned over to a local African-American museum that plans to create a new piece of public artwork.
There is a statue of Robert E. Lee with a banner that reads "Black Lives Matter" at the park. The photo was taken by Eze Amos.
The images are from the same company.
The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, which runs a local museum to highlight the history and culture of the African diaspora, was given ownership of the statue by the city council.
The museum's project called for the statue to be melted and reformed into art.
The final artwork will not be known until after the museum consults with the community over the next few months.
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The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center hopes that "Swords Into Plowshares" will transform what was once toxic in our public space into something beautiful and more reflective of our entire community.
The key background.
In August of last year, far-right groups gathered at the statue in order to hold a rally dubbed "Unite the Right" after the council voted to remove it in response to a petition from a local high school student. One counter-protester was killed after a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi rammed his car into a crowd. The white nationalist demonstration was one of the most striking in recent history, with many of the attendees openly displaying Confederate and Nazi flags and Ku Klux Klan symbols. The council voted to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. after the rally. The removal of the statues was delayed by court battles. The statues were taken down on July 10 after the city was cleared to do so.
It's not clear what will happen to the statue. The Los Angeles-based art center had put in a bid for both the Jackson and Lee monuments, but the members of the council in Charlottesville had shown interest in giving it to them.
There is a structure called the Tangent.
A federal jury ordered the organizers of the Unite the Right rally to pay more than $25 million in damages.
Further viewing is possible.
The Lee statue was given to an organization with plans to transform it.
The center of the white nationalist rally has taken down Confederate statues.
A jury found that the rally organizers must pay $25 million in damages.
