Stonewall Jackson Monument

The statues were commission and erected along Monument Avenue from 1890 till 1919 as the narrative and support for the Confederate cause re-emerged.[2] The commemoration of the Confederate leaders is one of the few times in history where a losing side in a national civil war had the platform during their lifetime to celebrate their cause.[5] It highlights the Confederate states' desire and ability to raise memorials a generation after their failure to establish an independent slaveholding republic, representing a need to vindicate and legitimize the Confederate experience in American national history.[5] The Confederate states cause is commonly known as the ‘Lost Cause’ which has come to describe the legitimization and, at times, the idealization of the Confederate motives to go to war against the Union states.[11] This narrative sought to absolve Confederate states of charges of treason, legitimize their reasoning for going to war to maintain states’ rights and sovereignty over its territory and people, primarily the continuation of slavery on the basis that is was just and ethical and to find moral victory in military defeat.[5] The ‘Lost Cause’ narrative further sought to minimize the centrality of slavery and white supremacy in the build-up and outbreak of the Civil War.[11] Richmond was a focal point for the narrative of the ‘Lost Cause’ with several of the most well-known Confederate men's statues along Monument Avenue in Lee, Jackson and Davis.[2] These ‘great’ Confederate commanders were often depicted as brave and virtuous and were celebrated with parades and events occurring annually along Monument Avenue.[2] Thomas Jackson is of particular importance to  the ‘Lost Cause,’ as he was one of the leading and most influential Confederate commanders until his death in 1863. The statues and monuments erected throughout Southern states are now widely seen as symbolizing the ‘Lost Cause’ narrative thereby perpetuating racism and racist power structures within America, more prominently in Southern states.[12]

Removal of the Stonewall Jackson statue, on July 1, 2020

There was opposition to the commissioning of the statues along Monument Avenue from the very onset, with John Mitchell, a black city councilman, in the 1870s, strongly opposing paying tribute to “blood and treason” and paying for these statues with public funds.[10] He vowed there would come a time when African Americans would be there to take these statues down.[10] More recently, the statues on Monument Avenue have come under scrutiny after the death of George Floyd and the renewed global attention on the importance of the Black Lives Matter Movement. The movement was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's murderer.[13] It aims “to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes”.[13] Through protesting, the BLM movement seeks to illustrate how statues of Confederate commanders came to symbolize the lack of freedom, liberty and justice black people had, historically and today. With Richmond being a focal point for celebration of the Confederate cause, BLM protests were extensive with great importance placed on the need to remove statues of Confederate generals, one of whom is Thomas Jackson.[10] The statues are now widely viewed as paying tribute to the ‘Lost Cause,’ particularly the gradual rationalization of the necessity of institutionalized slavery and the perpetuation of racial inequalities.[10] As part of the BLM protests, Jackson's monument was vandalized and on July 1, 2020, the equestrian statue was removed on the mayor's orders, with the base the only remaining feature.[2] His statue along with James Stewart, Jefferson Davis and Matthew Maury were removed while the Arthur Ashe and Robert E. Lee monuments are the only remain ones.[14] The shifting status quo is perhaps best described in a letter to the Richmond Mayor, Levar Stoney and members of the Monument Avenue Commission from descendants of Thomas Jackson. They requested the removal of the Jackson statue as well as all Confederate statues along this Avenue as they are overt symbols of racism, white supremacy and they recognize the need to stop commemorating symbols of racial injustice.[10] This represented a global shift away from honouring figures who attempted to maintained great inequalities in society, as issues of racial injustice and discrimination are being addressed and publicly condemned.[6]

While the BLM movement has seen the removal of several contentious statues in America, some believe the statues should remain as they are an important part of American history. This discourse suggests that these monuments should not be seen as idealizing racial injustice, instead serving as a stark reminder of issues of racism, slavery and racist power structures, that America and the rest of the world has historical and to this day, continues to face.[15] American Historian James M McPherson suggests that to remove these Confederate statues is wiping out important parts of American history, recommending that plaques explaining who put them up, when, why and for what purpose will serve as a better solution.[15] In this way, some believe that keeping these statues would ensure American history is told in full, without important details like the racial injustice many people of colour experienced, being left out or omitted like it had when the 'Lost Cause' narrative was supported.