FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- A 176-year-old slave auction block has been removed from a Virginia city's downtown. The weathered stone was sprayed with graffiti twice and chants of “move the block” erupted this week during local demonstrations over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, city officials said in a statement announcing the removal. In 2019, the City Council voted in favor of its removal and relocation to the Fredericksburg Area Museum, and a judge upheld that decision in February after two businesses near the auction block sued to stop the relocation. The museum now plans to display the knee-high stone in an exhibit chronicling the "movement from slavery to accomplishments by the local African American community,” the Free Lance-Star said. The staff also plans to feature the recent protests in the exhibit, according to the museum's president and CEO.

Source: ABC News June 05, 2020 13:07 UTC