A statue of Robert E Lee, a commander for the pro-slavery South
during the US Civil War, was removed from the Capitol building early Monday,
officials said, part of a reckoning with the country’s history of racism.

“Last night, Virginia
removed its statue of Robert E Lee from the US Capitol,” tweeted the
state’s governor, Ralph Northam.

“This is an important
step forward — it is past time we tell our story with images of perseverance,
diversity, and inclusion,” he continued.

During the 1861-1865 Civil
War, the Confederate South seceded from the United States and fought to
maintain slavery, which the rest of the country had abolished.

Virginia was home to the
Southern capital, Richmond. The statue of Lee had represented the state at the
Capitol building in Washington, the heart of US legislative power, since 1909.

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But Confederate flags and
monuments are now widely considered symbols of racism and oppression, even if
their supporters argue they are a simple legacy of history.

In May, an African American
man, George Floyd, was killed by police in an incident captured on video,
igniting a fresh push against racial injustice in the US marked by months of
protests and an unprecedented reckoning with such Confederate symbols.

Many have since been torn
down, either by protesters or officials.

The top Democrat in Congress,
Nancy Pelosi, welcomed the removal of the Lee statue from the Capital.

“There is no room for
celebrating the bigotry of the Confederacy in the Capitol or any other place of
honor in our country,” she tweeted.

The statue is expected to be replaced by one of Barbara Johns,
an African American civil rights activist.