Zyahna Bryant Re-Ignited The Battle Against Confederate Statutes At 15

Feeling Rebloggy


FROM VICE.COM

Bryant’s petition against Charlottesville’s Confederate statues was cited by Councilman Wes Bellamy as a catalyst for the May 2016 creation of a Blue Ribbon Commission on Race, Memorials, and Public Spaces. By March of 2017, the City Council had considered the Commission’s report and voted three to two to remove the statues altogether. Several plaintiffs immediately sued and a Virginia state judge enjoined the town of Charlottesville from removing its statutes, pending the lawsuit. That summer, in July of 2017, the Ku Klux Klan protested the City’s plans. On the weekend of August 12, hundreds of alt-righters rallied in town to preserve the statues, leaving three people dead in their wake.

It's February, 2018 now and the statue of General Lee is still standing, covered by a black, plastic tarp. Nearby, in the old Capital of the Confederate States, Democrats in Richmond recently introduced a bill in the Virginia state legislature that would grant Charlottesville the local power to permanently remove its Confederate statues.

In a series of recent phone calls, Bryant told me about her essential role in Charlottesville and American history. The following has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

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