Foundry workers at an undisclosed location begin the long process of disassembling and melting down the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The statue was a focal point of deadly riots in Charlottesville, Va. in 2017. Eze Amos/For Swords into Plowshares hide caption
Descendants of the enslavers and the enslaved unite for a family portrait at the Arlington House, the former plantation once owned by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and his wife, Mary Custis Lee. Dee Dwyer for NPR hide caption
Artist Bryce Cobbs stands next to the drawing he created of Henrietta Lacks, which was unveiled in Roanoke, Va., on Monday. The drawing will be used in the design process of a larger-than-life bronze statue. Matt Gentry/The Roanoke Times via AP hide caption
Charlottesville activist Don Gathers reflects on five years since white supremacists terrorized his hometown — "all the hatefulness and evilness that transpired here." Eze Amos for NPR hide caption
Crews remove the statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond on Sept. 8. Pending city council approval, the statue and eight other Confederate monuments will be moved to Richmond's Black History Museum. Steve Helber/AP hide caption
Workers remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Va., in July. Initial plans to remove the statue four years ago sparked the infamous Unite the Right rally where 32-year-old Heather Heyer was killed. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption
Workers remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Market Street Park in Charlottesville, Va., in July. Initial plans to remove the statue four years ago sparked the infamous "Unite the Right" rally at which 32-year-old Heather Heyer was killed. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption
The new Emancipation and Freedom Monument in Richmond, Va., features two 12-foot bronze statues of a man and woman holding an infant who have been newly freed from slavery. Virginia's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission hide caption
Crews work to remove one of the country's largest remaining monuments to the Confederacy, a towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Wednesday in Richmond, Va. Steve Helber/AP hide caption
Protesters climb on the base of the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue on June 6, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia amid continued protests over the death of George Floyd in police custody. The statue is set to be taken down on Sept. 8, 2021. Vivien Killilea/Getty Images hide caption
A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee is shown in Market Street Park July 9, 2021 in Charlottesville, Va. The statute, along with another of Gen. Stonewall Jackson, will be removed Saturday. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption
The Robert E. Lee statue on Richmond's Monument Avenue is seen here during a violin vigil to remember Elijah McClain in July. Eze Amos/Getty Images hide caption
A statue of Robert E. Lee and busts of other Confederate leaders have been removed from the Virginia Capitol in Richmond, shown here in January. Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption
A crew from the Virginia Department of General Services takes measurements as they inspect the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue on Monday. Steve Helber/AP hide caption
City workers drape a tarp over the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Emancipation park in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 23. Steve Helber/AP hide caption
The Rev. Robert Wright Lee, a relative of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, resigned on Monday as pastor from a North Carolina church. Above, Lee speaks at the MTV Video Music Awards in August. Matt Sayles/Invision/AP hide caption
One of Twitty's projects is his "Southern Discomfort Tour" — a journey through the "forgotten little Africa" of the Old South. He picks cotton, chops wood, works in rice fields and cooks for audiences in plantation kitchens while dressed in slave clothing to recreate what his ancestors had to endure. Courtesy of Michael Twitty hide caption
Students walk through an entrance above which is engraved "Stonewall Jackson" at Jackson Elementary School in Oklahoma City. Nick Oxford for NPR hide caption
A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee is removed from the University of Texas campus, early Monday morning in Austin. Eric Gay/AP hide caption
A photo of the statue taken in months before it was damaged and then removed, shows Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee at the entrance to Duke Chapel in Durham, N.C. Allen G. Breed/AP hide caption
The violence in Charlottesville erupted over protests about removing a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Another statue of Lee was removed earlier this year in New Orleans. Library of Congress hide caption
A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee is removed Friday from Lee Circle in New Orleans. Lee's was the last of four monuments to Confederate-era figures to be removed under a 2015 City Council vote on a proposal by Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Scott Threlkeld/AP hide caption
Workers prepare to take down the statue of Robert E. Lee in New Orleans on Friday, the last of four Confederate-related monuments slated for removal. Gerald Herbert/AP hide caption
A notice marking the dual holiday honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., as posted at a Senate Education Committee hearing in Little Rock, Ark. Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a law separating Lee from the King holiday. Andrew DeMillo/AP hide caption