The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee that sparked the infamous Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally in 2017 has been secretly melted down in a ceremonial event. The Washington Post reported that the statue met its end in a 2,250-degree furnace, with the goal of creating a new piece of public artwork. The project, called "Swords Into Plowshares," was led by University of Virginia religious studies professor Jalane Schmidt and Andrea Douglas, the executive director of Charlottesville's Black history museum.

The decision to melt down the statue was made to ensure the safety of those involved and to prevent the statue from being relocated to another community. Schmidt compared the destruction of the monument to putting down a rabid dog, stating that it was better to transform it into something positive rather than allowing it to exist as a symbol of white supremacy.

Rev. Isaac Collins, a United Methodist minister, delivered a sermon at the ceremony, declaring that it is a sin to have monuments celebrating figures from the Confederacy. NPR also covered the event, crediting Swords Into Plowshares for its efforts to create a more inclusive public art installation.

The statue of Lee, which stood in a park named after the Confederate general for nearly 100 years, was a focal point of controversy. In 2017, the city council voted to remove the statue, leading to violent clashes between neo-Confederate, white nationalist, and neo-Nazi sympathizers and counter-protesters during the "Unite the Right" rally. One counter-protester, Heather Heyer, was killed when a car was intentionally driven into a crowd by James Alex Fields Jr.

The decision to melt down the statue followed a protracted legal battle over its future. In December 2021, a judge ruled that the statue could be melted down and repurposed. On the day of the ceremony, the statue was cut into pieces before being melted in a furnace that reached temperatures of over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It took hours to render the monument into hundreds of blocks of bronze.

While other Confederate statues in the South have been removed and placed in storage or museums, the decision to melt down the Lee statue was seen as the best option for the Charlottesville community. Schmidt expressed relief that they can now move forward and focus on art rather than hate.

The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, which spearheaded the effort to repurpose the statue, will now accept proposals from artists for how to use the bronze blocks. The goal is to announce a finalist for the art installation by 2024, the 100th anniversary of the unveiling of the Lee statue, and have the new project installed by 2027, the 10th anniversary of the Unite the Right rally.

Andrea Douglas, the executive director of the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, stated that the end of the Lee statue marks the beginning of a beautiful new work of art for the community. The project aims to bear witness to the racist past while looking towards a more equitable future.

Overall, the melting of the Lee statue symbolizes a significant step forward for the Charlottesville community, allowing them to transform a divisive symbol into a piece of art that promotes inclusivity and unity.