(CNN) Bronze statues of two Confederate generals were removed on Saturday from public property in Charlottesville, Virginia, almost four years after they were a flashpoint for a violent "Unite the Right" rally that left one person dead. Machinery first lifted the statue of Robert E. Lee in Market Street Park from its stone base shortly after 8 a.m. A statue of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was removed from Court Square Park nearly two hours later. The stone bases will be left in place and removed later. "(Removing the statues) is one small step closer to the goal of helping Charlottesville, Virginia, and America grapple with its sin of being willing to destroy Black people for economic gains," Mayor Nikuyah Walker told reporters shortly before the Lee statue was lifted.

Source: CNN July 10, 2021 12:35 UTC