Richmond Free Press September 9-11, 2021 edition

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Richmond Free Press © 2021 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

VOL. 30 NO. 37

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

www.richmondfreepress.com

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Ruby Scoops owner Rabia Kamara wins ‘Clash of the Cones’ B2

SEPTEMBER 9-11, 2021

The 131-year-old, six-story bronze symbol of white supremacy honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue is taken down as scores watch in person and online

Onlookers raise their fists in the air in solidarity with the removal of the towering statue at Monument and Allen avenues.

From hatred to hope Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Workers carefully lower to the ground Wednesday the 12-ton bronze statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from the large stone pedestal on Monument Avenue where it has stood since 1890.

An empty pedestal covered with colorful anti-racist slogans. That’s all that remains of the state’s greatest symbol of white supremacy – the statue of the traitorous Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee riding his horse, Traveller. On Wednesday, after more than a year of legal maneuvering, the 21-foot-tall, 12-ton bronze statue of the slaverydefending Civil War loser was taken down from its perch in a traffic circle at Monument and Allen avenues, where it had seemed to be permanently affixed since 1890. Who knew it could be so quick and easy? Cheers and chants of “Na, na, na, na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye,” erupted among the 300 or so people who had gathered to witness a crane lifting the statue from the pedestal and depositing it on the ground in two minutes. A few years ago, this historic and dramatic change in Richmond’s landscape would have seemed impossible, but there is was—livestreamed to the hundreds of thousands of people who watched via computer and cell phone. Security was tight, but statue supporters waving Confederate battle flags did not make an appearance. Please turn to A4

This can’t be all: ‘A paradigm shift must occur’ By George Copeland Jr.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

Devon Henry, president and chief executive officer of the Newport News-based Team Henry Enterprises, hugs his mother, Freda Thornton, after the Lee statue came down on Wednesday. Mr. Henry’s company was responsible for the removal and disassembly of the statue for storage in an undisclosed secure location. He faced death threats after his company’s role in removing Richmond’s other Confederate statues in July 2020 was made public.

Cheers, chants and singing echoed across Monument Avenue early Wednesday morning as a few hundred people gathered to watch the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue from the perch where it has stood over the city for more than a century. For the crowd, which ranged from college-age to senior citizens, this was history in the making, with a palpable enthusiasm for Richmond’s future. “All of this is a historic moment, and we shouldn’t stop here” said Muhammad Abdul-Rahman, an organizer with Richmond New Mainstream, who rallied the crowd by leading chants. “The people united will never be divided!” some chanted. And they sang, “Hey, hey, hey, goodbye.”

Not a single person waving a Confederate flag was seen. There was a more uniform sense of purpose among Wednesday’s spectators compared to July 2020 when other monuments to the Lost Cause were taken down. Some people waved Black Lives Matter flags and there was a sign that put it simply and plainly: “F--- These Statues.” And while the crowd, which was kept at a distance, had to move to opposite ends of the street to see the statue’s removal through the trees, it

did little to dampen the enthusiasm when the 12-ton bronze statue was finally lifted from its pedestal. The work to remove and disassemble the statue for storage was overseen by Team Henry Enterprises, led by Devon Henry, a Black executive who has faced death threats after his company’s role in removing Richmond’s other Confederate statues was made public last year. He told the Associated Press the Lee statue posed the most complex challenge. “It won’t transport in this

Please turn to A4

First day jitters The first day of school always brings jitters – to parents as well as youngsters heading off to class for the very first time. Fran Neal encourages her son, Anthony Mitchell, on Wednesday morning outside Chimborazo Elementary School in Church Hill, where he is in pre-kindergarten. Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras was outside the school to welcome youngsters and talk with parents at the start of the 2021-22 academic year. Wednesday was the first day of in-person learning for thousands of city public school students since the pandemic forced a shutdown in March 2020.

Free COVID-19 testing, vaccines Free community testing for COVID-19 continues. The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations: • Thursday, Sept. 9, 1 to 3 p.m., Hotchkiss Field Community Center, 701 E. Brookland Park Blvd. • Wednesday, Sept. 15, 1 to 3 p.m., Eastern Henrico Recreation Center Pavilion, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave. • Wednesday, Sept. 22, 1 to 3 p.m., Eastern Henrico Recreation Center Pavilion, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave. Appointments are not necessary, but can be made by calling the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 2053501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or by registering online at https://bit.

height, so we need to lift the rider off the horse and transport it that way,” Mr. Henry said. “From a thickness standpoint, we don’t know how long it will take. Are there iron supports? It’s a total mystery.” By mid-afternoon, the pieces of the statue were gone, hauled away on a flatbed truck to cheers from the remaining crowd. The only moment of conflict came from a brief argument between local anti-Confederate residents and Aubrey “JaPharii”

ly/RHHDCOVID. Testing will be offered while test supplies last. COVID-19 testing also is available at various drug stores, clinics and urgent care centers throughout the area for people with and without health insurance. Several offer tests with no out-of-pocket costs. A list of area COVID-19 testing sites is online at https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/richmond-city/ richmond-and-henrico-area-covid-19-testingsites/ The Virginia Department of Health also has a list of COVID-19 testing locations around the state at www.vdh.virginia.gov/ coronavirus/covid-19-testing/covid-19testing-sites/.

Please turn to A4 Clement Britt


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