On May 21, 1924, a statue of legendary Confederate General Robert E. Lee was unveiled to the city of Charlottesville during a Confederate reunion. Fast forward almost 93 years later, and the Charlottesville City Council is facing a controversial decision to remove it.

The decision to remove the statue seems more and more likely, but it’s facing a legal problem. Virginia state law states that memorials of war veterans shall not be moved, including ones of Confederate soldiers. So regardless of the City Council vote, which stands at 3-2 in favor of the removal, the statue will stay put. However, Charlottesville City Councilor Bob Fenwick (who was the tie-breaking vote) says the Council will ask the state attorney general for advice on where to go from here.

The public appears to have mixed reviews on the removal. Protests in favor and against the removal have taken place at City Hall and Lee Park, with some feeling its continued existence is an affront, and others arguing that the whole controversy is a waste of time over a statue. “I think that the money could easily be spent doing something more productive,” said FCHS Senior Hunter Nowak, referring to the fact that moving the statue will cost $300,000 of taxpayer money. In fact, a number of Charlottesville residents have said they will leave the city if the city chooses to spend their money this way.

One of the main arguments in favor of removing the statue is that it is a racist symbol. But FCHS Senior Chris Miller, who is African-American, disagrees with this view. “It’s just a statue. I don’t know what difference it will really make on fighting racism.” Still others argue that targeting this particular statue is ironic since there is evidence that Robert E. Lee was against the enslaving of his fellow man. According to the Times-Picayune, “In a famous letter to his wife, Lee wrote that ‘slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil in any country.’” Overall, Fluvanna resident Robert Maher feels that the city should “keep the statue where it is. For almost 100 years it hasn’t been a problem, so why make it one now?”

In the end, if the Charlottesville City Council gets the right to take down the statue, the town of Scottsville may offer to take it in. Perry Stone of local radio station 97.53WV posted a video on Facebook discussing a possible new home for the statue. The video was intended to be comedic, but Stone later stated that it was also meant to be taken seriously. Not long after, Mayor Nancy Gill of Scottsville called the radio station to discuss the statue. Although no official agreements were made, Gill said that under certain conditions, her city would take the statue if it is removed by the Charlottesville City Council.

One thing remains certain, and that is that this once-revered statue will continue to be an object of contention for years to come.