Virginia City Of Norfolk Removes Confederate Monument Amid Protests In US

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th June, 2020) The US city of Norfolk removed a confederate monument amid calls that emerged in the wake of the George Floyd protests, Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander's office said in a statement.

"Alexander announced today that the bronze statue that sits atop the 80-foot downtown Confederate Monument will be removed within the next 24 hours," the office said via Twitter. "The decision to immediately remove the statue, known as Johnny Reb, was made in the interest of public safety due to recent events at the local and national level."

The statue, which is about 16 feet tall and weighs some 1,500 Pounds, was removed in less than two hours, the release added. The city will hold a public hearing on July 7 regarding the monument's future, according to the mayor's office.

The killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in late May sparked a wave of protests against police brutality and institutionalized racism which spread to all 50 states and numerous countries worldwide.

After police, the fury of the demonstrators turned toward statues and monuments of US historical lawmakers who implemented policies viewed as racist by the protesters. The statues of Confederate General Williams Wickham and Confederate President Jefferson Davis has recently been toppled in a public park in Richmond, the former capital of the Confederacy.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam vowed the removal of a state-owned statue of Confederate Gen. Robert Lee from Richmond's popular Monument Avenue, yet a court halted the removal for 10 days.