"Controversial Robert E. Lee Statue Transformed into Inclusive Public Art in Secret Ceremony"

The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia, was secretly melted down in a symbolic ceremony to create a new piece of inclusive public art. The project, called "Swords Into Plowshares," led by a professor and the executive director of Charlottesville's Black history museum, aims to transform the controversial statue into a sculpture that the community can be proud of. Due to past threats and legal concerns, the project was kept secret until now. The destruction of the statue was compared to putting down a rabid dog, and the act of melting it down was seen as a way to remove the trauma associated with Confederate symbols.