A group of protesters toting “Black Lives Matter” signs covered up a statue of Thomas Jefferson at University of Virginia Tuesday night in a black shroud following violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, last month.
Fox News reports that approximately 100 students, faculty, and community members carrying “Black Lives Matter” signs marched on the Charlottesville university and covered up a monument honoring U.S. founding father and UVA founder Thomas Jefferson.
The protesters arrived on the university’s campus around 8 p.m. Tuesday, WVIR reports.
Several people climbed on top of the monument to place signs calling Jefferson a “rapist” and a “racist” before covering the statue in a black shroud.
“No Trump, No KKK, no racist U-V-A,” many students chanted, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Protesters rallied around the statue in response to the university’s decision to turn down the Black Student Alliance’s request to ban white supremacists from campus and take down the Confederate plaques on UVA’s rotunda, the Daily Progress reported.
The protest comes a day after the Deans Working Group released a report that said UVA’s response to the August 11 Charlottesville violence could have been improved, specifically the university’s policies regarding protests and demonstrations.
UVA President Teresa Sullivan said:
What happened on Aug. 11 on our Grounds, while unprecedented, was unacceptable. But we will not let it define us. It takes time to heal as a community and we must do so together. This Working Group report is an important step. Going forward, we must recommit ourselves to our core values and further enhance our inclusive, diverse learning and living environment.
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