There is power in a symbol. While we meet our local governments with demands to reform police and end unjust killings of black people, we must also eliminate the symbols that allow us to view the most racist act of violence in our nation's history in a heroic light. 

Today, (June 2) Levar Stoney said that the use of force against peaceful protest will never happen again in Richmond. Today, we ask that he also condemn the racist acts of violence committed by the confederate soldiers in the civil war by removing the optics that suggest their sacrifices were not in vain, that suggest that their choice to give their lives to keep black people at the status of second class citizens was commendable.

Removing statues will not solve the problem of police brutality or racism, but it will send a message that Richmond rejects racism, past and present. It will make racially motivated killings of black citizens by police harder to justify.