The Confederate general statues on Monument Ave. need to be moved. Whatever they meant before, now they are racist symbols. They belong in museums.

Mayor Stoney has argued, wisely, that they should be preserved, and contextualized, to remind us of Virginia's racist history. But this needs to happen fast, and unambiguously. Confederate statues now are rallying points for violence.

A better way to commemorate Civil War history is to replace the statues with monuments to black heroes, like the Arthur Ashe statue by DePasquale. Plaques with photos at the base can show visitors the Confederate warriors who used to stand here, but who Virginians had the respect and dignity to bring down.