蜜芽传媒

A statue of an American Confederate general, Robert E Lee, has been taken down in Richmond, Virginia. The statue became a focal point for Black Lives Matter activism last year and crowds cheered as a crane removed it on Wednesday.

Chelsea Higgs Wise is a community organiser in Virginia. She told Newsday:

鈥淟ast summer the monument was reclaimed by the people. It is historic because of the long history of black resistance over the last 130 years.鈥�

鈥淩obert E Lee led the Confederacy which was fighting to maintain the enslavement of black Americans. He was the symbol of white supremacy.鈥�

鈥淲e still have a lot of folks that call it 'heritage not hate'. But for the large majority of the collective of Richmond it is really a reaction of relief.鈥�

Photo: The statue of Robert E Lee is removed in Virginia (Reuters)