york. confederacy for 130 years. the statue of germ robert e. lee in richmond, virginia, has been a potent symbol of the civil war, the confederacy, and for many, racism and oppression. yesterday governor ralpho had his own controversy over a black face photo, announced that the statue will be taken down. the war heroes of the confederacy have long lined richmond's monument avenue. the biggest of all, six stories high, the statue of general robert e. lee, has stood since 1890. >> yes, that statue has been there for a long time. but it was wrong then, and it is wrong now. >> reporter: governor ralph northam said virginia could no longer honor a system that support slavery. >> so i am directing the department of general services to remove the statue of robert e. lee as soon as possible. [ applause ] [ clanhants ] >> reporter: the monuments have become a focal point of protests in the aftermath of george floyd's death. wednesday night, an image of floyd was projected on the base of the lee statue. >> glad like they're taking action and taking what we're seeing seriously. so we're glad to hear that our voices are being heard finally. >> i hope that it's not just performative. i hope that real ch