Richmond’s Monument Avenue has zero Confederate statues, but Capitol Square still has three. And they are in a very prominent spot right in front of the Capitol.
That's always bothered former Delegate Bob Brink.
"The more recent statutes that have been erected there, the Women's Monument, the Civil Rights Monument, the Native American Monument, those speak to the best of us. And the statues of Hunter McGuire, Extra Billy Smith and Stonewall Jackson speak to the worst of us," Brink argues.
That's why he’s been pressing Senator Adam Ebbin introduced a bill to get rid of the statues as one of his last efforts in the General Assembly before he joins the Spanberger administration.
"They say you should leave a campsite better than you found it," Ebbin says. "And to me I'd love to leave Capitol Square a little bit better than I found it 22 years ago."
Ebbin also has a bill to ditch the racist state song emeritus, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny."
"The Civil War ended 160 years ago or 588,740 days ago. It's time to get over it," according to Ebbin
Ebbin's bill to get rid of the statues was approved by the Senate Finance Committee on a party-line vote.
U. S. Senator Tim Kaine also announced legislation at the federal level to remove a Confederate reference from the name of a national monument within Arlington National Cemetery.
The legislation would change the name of Arlington House—The Robert E Lee Memorial to simply Arlington House National Historic Site.
The Lee family lived in the house until the outbreak of the Civil War. During the war it was taken by the federal government and turned into a national military cemetery.
Kaine said the legislation was inspired by a request from descendants of people enslaved at the home.
