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Virginia’s statue of the Confederate general Robert E. Lee was removed from its post in the US Capitol on Monday morning, closing a year that saw Confederate statues toppled as the nation reckoned with racism in its history and institutions.
In April, the month before the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis would set off worldwide protests against racism and police brutality, Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia signed legislation directing the creation of a commission to study the removal and replacement of the statue.
States are each allotted two statues to display in the US Capitol; Virginia’s other statue is of George Washington.