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A26 u.s. news
Diasabra 10 Juli 2021

Charlottesville set to remove Lee statue that sparked rally

(AP) — A statue of Con- had been “very fine people, cure location on city property
federate Gen. Robert E. on both sides” led to a crush until the City Council makes
Lee that became a rallying of criticism from Republi- a final decision, the news re-
point for white suprema- cans, Democrats and busi- lease said.
cists and helped inspire ness leaders.
their infamous 2017 rally In the aftermath of the rally,
in Charlottesville will be Charlottesville continued to Charlottesville residents un-
hoisted off its pedestal this fight in court for the removal leashed a torrent of pain,
weekend and sent to stor- of the Lee statue and addi- anger and frustration at city
age, officials announced tionally voted to remove the and state officials, laying bare
Friday. Jackson figure. But a circuit deeper issues about race and
court judge prevented the economic inequality. Activ-
The Lee statue and another city from even shrouding the ists have since pushed the
Confederate tribute nearby statues with tarps. city to address its legacies of
are both scheduled to be re- racism and slavery and its
moved Saturday, nearly four After Democrats took control dearth of affordable hous-
years after violence erupted of the General Assembly in ing and police accountability,
at the “Unite the Right” Only the statues of Lee and First, they rallied by torch- the 2019 elections, the mon- among other issues.
rally. The chaos left 32-year- Confederate Gen. Thomas light at the statue in May ument-protection law was
old protester Heather Heyer “Stonewall” Jackson will be 2017, then a small group of rewritten in 2020. Since then, Kristin Szakos, who was a
dead and sparked a national removed for now, the city Klansmen gathered in July, local governments across the City Council member at the
debate over racial equity, said. The stone bases of the far outnumbered by peaceful state have removed statues time of the rally, said in an in-
further inflamed by former monuments will be left in protesters. that stood for a century or terview earlier this week that
President Donald Trump’s place temporarily and re- more. there was a determination to
insistence that there was moved later. The issue reached a crescen- make sure the lessons of 2017
“blame on both sides.” do in August, when white Charlottesville, however, were learned.
The statues are perched in supremacist and neo-Nazi waited for the resolution of
A coalition of activists issued places of relative promi- organizers of the “Unite the the lawsuit, which came in “It really brought up a lot
a statement Friday celebrat- nence in Charlottesville, a Right” rally gathered in the April, when the state’s high- of awareness of white su-
ing the announcement. Be- small, picturesque city in the city to defend the Lee statue est court sided with the city. premacy that is not just from
cause of litigation and chang- foothills of the Blue Ridge and seize on the issue for visitors from Idaho, but also
es to a state law dealing with Mountains and home to the publicity, meeting in what Since that ruling, the city from structures in our own
war memorials, the city had University of Virginia. Com- was the largest such gather- government has been work- culture and in our own insti-
been unable to act until now. missioned by a UVA gradu- ing of extremists in at least a ing its way through the re- tutions that we have to deal
ate and erected in the 1920s, decade. quirements of the new law, with. And that those are more
As long as the statues “remain when Jim Crow laws were like holding a public hearing important than just chasing
standing in our downtown eroding the rights of Black They brawled in the streets and offering the statue to a Nazis out of our town,” she
public spaces, they signal citizens, the statues are just near the statue with anti- museum or historical society said.
that our community toler- blocks apart from each other. racist counterprotesters as for possible relocation. The
ated white supremacy and police largely stood by and offer period for Charlottes- Szakos, no longer in office,
the Lost Cause these gener- The Charlottesville City watched. The scenes of in- ville’s statues ended Thurs- said the city has made some
als fought for,” the coalition Council voted in February tense violence shocked the day. progress toward that work
called Take ’Em Down Cville 2017 to take down the Lee nation. A short time later, an and that the statue removals
said. statue amid mounting public avowed white supremacist Ten responses have been re- will be another step in the
pressure, including a petition and admirer of Adolf Hitler ceived so far, Friday’s news right direction.
Preparations around the started by a Black high school intentionally plowed his car release said, and the city re-
parks where the statues stand student, Zyahna Bryant. into a crowd of people, kill- mains open to “additional ex- City officials have said they
were to begin Friday and ing Heyer and leaving others pressions of interest.” Under plan to redesign the park
included the installation of A lawsuit was quickly filed, with life-altering injuries. the new law, the city has the spaces where the statues are
protective fencing, the news putting the city’s plans on final say in the statues’ dispo- located “in a way that pro-
release said. Designated pub- hold, and white supremacists Trump’s suggestion at a later sition. motes healing and that tells
lic viewing areas for the re- seized on the issue. news conference that there a more complete history of
movals will be established. Both will be stored in a se- Charlottesville.”

Grizzly shot, killed after fatal attack of

California woman

The bear was shot by lure the animal back, Lemon and borders a huge expanse
federal wildlife workers said. Local authorities said a of forested lands that stretch-
shortly after midnight closure of campsites in town es to the Canada border. The
when it approached a trap would continue until DNA region is home to an estimat-
set near the coop about 2 evidence in the case is re- ed 1,000 grizzlies.
miles (3 kilometers) from turned. “Based on the size of
Ovando, where Leah Da- the bear, the color of the bear
vis Lokan, 65, of Chico, and the nature of the chicken
California, was killed ear- coop raids, we’re confident
ly Tuesday morning, said we’ve got the offending bear,”
Greg Lemon with Mon- he said. Lemon said tracks
tana Fish, Wildlife and found at the site of the coop
Parks. also matched tracks found in
Ovando. The town along the
The bear had raided the banks of the Blackfoot River
chicken coop overnight — made famous by the mov-
Wednesday, and officials set a ie “A River Runs Through It”
baited trap nearby hoping to — has fewer than 100 people