- The Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, Virginia, has been reclaimed with Black Lives Matter art and messages since the death of George Floyd.
- Images of historic Black activists and thinkers have been projected onto the monument, including Rep. John Lewis, Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, and WEB Du Bois.
- Amid the reckoning over Confederate monuments in the US, the statue has become a meeting place for people to gather, protest, and create.
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The statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, – one of the most infamous Confederate monuments in the US – has been reclaimed with images to support the Black Lives Matter movement after the death of George Floyd.
At varying points over the last two months, Virginia-based lighting artist Dustin Klein has projected the faces of Black activists and thinkers, including Rep. John Lewis, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, and WEB Du Bois, overtop the statue.
The surrounding area has become a hub for protests and gatherings, as people show up in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, while community members cook out, play games, and take photos against the backdrop of the projections.
“There’s just a feeling of community and family. All around the circle, you have all different people coming around and doing different things. It’s really inspiring,” Joseph Rogers, an organizer with Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice, and Equality told the AP.
These images show how the statue has been transformed.
After George Floyd was killed by police on May 25, Virginia-based lighting artist Dustin Klein gathered his equipment and projected an image of him atop the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond.
Source: Richmond Magazine
Klein felt that it would be important to project an image of Floyd as a form of peaceful protest against the backdrop of a pro-slavery Confederate monument.
Source: Richmond Magazine
"I set up, and everyone appreciated it," Klein told Richmond Magazine. "The memorial is super sad, and we are all trying to grieve, but the [projected] faces have resonated, they're haunting. I think that's why people have been asking me to come back."
Source: Richmond Magazine
At the end of June, Klein kept up the work by projecting an image of WEB Du Bois, a civil rights activist, historian, scholar, writer, sociologist, educator, and poet.
Source: NAACP
A few days later, an image of Harriet Tubman, the iconic abolitionist and activist who helped free at least 70 people from slavery, donned the statue.
Source: NPS
In this photo, people are seen gathering around to see the projection of Tubman. The quote above her image reads, "Slavery is the next thing to hell."
The face of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was seen on the monument on June 23, with a message to support a bail fund above it.
The statue was also used to show support for the LBGTQ community by displaying a rainbow flag during Pride month.
Here, an image of Frederick Douglass, a leading abolitionist who escaped slavery, is seen projected onto the statue's base.
Source: History Channel
Most recently, the statue depicted an image of John Lewis, the legendary civil rights activist and Georgia representative who died on July 17 at the age of 80.
Source: Business Insider
At a time when Americans are reckoning with what to do with Confederate monuments, the Robert E. Lee statue has been transformed with messages to support the BLM movement, and to provide a space for community gatherings.
https://twitter.com/tressiemcphd/status/1271143305590583296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Source: Insider
"All of these pictures you're seeing around the statue: It's about their lives and the injustice that has occurred," Lorenzo Nicholson, a visitor who came to see the statue told the AP. "You can't be human and not feel this."
Before and after of the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond Virginia.
Protestors making their voices heard! The grass turning yellow is a testament to all the people marching to end police brutality in recent weeks. #blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/YLOiXR9ada
— Chris Anton - AiRVA Photo (@AiRVA_photo) June 11, 2020
Source: Insider
Expanded Coverage Module: black-lives-matter-module