NPR

Sitting 26-Feet-High Atop A Horse, Gen. Lee Becomes A Lightning Rod For Discontent

The planned removal of Charlottesville's statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee stirred local controversy before fueling national flames.
The statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee seen in Charlottesville, Virginia's Emancipation Park one day after a white nationalist rally organized to oppose its planned removal devolved into violence. / Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

At the center of Charlottesville's violent white nationalist rally was a long-simmering controversy over the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

Controversies over Confederate symbols have been brewing around the country — most notably in South Carolina, where the Confederate flag was lowered from the state house grounds two years ago, and New Orleans, where statues came down earlier this year.

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