During the protests this weekend rallying against police brutality and specifically against the murder of George Floyd, the statues on Richmond's Monument Ave were covered in anti-police brutality and anti-racist graffiti along with messages of support for Black Lives Matter.

We the undersigned request that the city of Richmond, under Mayor Stoney's direction, not pay for the removal of graffiti from the statues.  The reason is two-fold and appeals to people on both sides of the argument regarding the keeping/removing of said statues.

First, many in favor of keeping the statues up have proposed the idea of keeping them up "with context".  This graffiti is the perfect context for these statues.  Not only do the statues of soldiers for the former Confederate States of America remain, but it adds the context of the suffering that came from those actions, suffering that continues to remain as America allows racial mistreatment and economic disparity to fester in our most vulnerable communities.

Second, it would save Richmond the financial costs of cleaning that statue. Plus if future vandals try to remove the graffiti many citizens would volunteer to replace it, free of charge.

Not only will this decision appease those who wish the statues to remain, it will show the world that Richmond is indeed committed to racial and economic justice.  It will also give historical context not only to the civil war, but to the summer when Richmond stood up to speak out against inequality.