Perhaps the obvious choices of either retaining, removing or destroying these statues may not be the only possibilities.
Perhaps finding a way to transform these statues and their meanings is the way we transform our culture, too.
Valuable contextual information from the US Dept. of the Interior National Park Service Form 10-900-b, "National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form" dated April 18, 1997 follows. This application was for the four Monumental Figurative Outdoor Sculptures created by members of the prestigious National Sculpture Society and donated by Paul Goodloe Mclntire to the city of Charlottesville, Virginia, and the University of Virginia during the late "City Beautiful" movement from 1919-1924.
The four sculptures which McIntire gave to the city and UVA, in chronological order:
1. "Their First View of the Pacific," the Meriwether Lewis and William Clark Sculpture by Charles Keck depicts three heroic-sized figures in bronze: William Clark is in the foreground; Meriwether Lewis is above and behind him; and Sacagawea, the Indian guide, crouches at their left. Presented to the city of Charlottesville 21 November 1919.
2. The Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson Sculpture by Charles Keck portrays Jackson riding into battle on his horse, Little Sorrel, in bronze, with the allegorical figures of Faith and Valor carved in high relief on the front. Paul Mclntire also gave Jackson Park for the display of the art work. 19 October 1921.
3. The George Rogers Clark Sculpture by Robert Aitken depicts a seven-figure group in bronze. The American Revolutionary War hero (and older brother of William Clark), is portrayed in conference with a standing Indian chief. The sculpture was erected at the eastern edge of the University of Virginia, 3 November 1921.
4. The Robert E. Lee Sculpture by Henry Shrady and Leo Lentelli portrays an equestrian figure of the Confederate general in bronze. Paul Mclntire gave Lee Park for the display of the sculpture. 21 May 1924.
Information from the US Dept. of the Interior National Park Service Form 10-900-b, "National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form" dated April 18, 1997:
Paul Goodloe Mclntire and Philanthropy:
For the city of Charlottesville and the University of Virginia, the initiative came from Paul Goodloe Mclntire, a Charlottesville native who became a highly successful financier and used a large portion of his wealth to benefit the greater Charlottesville community. Mclntire's love for the Charlottesville area began, no doubt, during his childhood. He was born in the City in 1860, the fifth of ten children, and his father, George Malcolm Mclntire, a druggist, served as mayor during the Civil War. His mother, Catherine Clark Mclntire, came from a prominent Albemarle County family that held land under grants received in colonial times. The Clark family produced the celebrated western explorers George Rogers and William Clark, but Paul Mclntire was not directly descended from either of these men.
After the Civil War, young Mclntire attended a private school for boys, and as a teenager, worked for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway under W. O. Watson, Charlottesville's longtime station master. Watson, who would later serve as Mclntire's trustee in handling business details for the production of the sculptures, encouraged his young employee to pursue other opportunities, and was probably instrumental in his attending the University of Virginia in 1879 for a short period. Whether for financial or personal reasons, Mclntire left the University, perhaps even before completing the initial session for which he was enrolled. He went to Chicago where he found employment as a coffee salesman and a stockbroker. He enjoyed considerable success in the latter venture and purchased a seat on the Chicago Stock Exchange in 1896. It is noteworthy that Mclntire was in Chicago at the time of the Columbian Exposition, and, although the records are silent, it is reasonable to assume that he visited the fair and was impressed by the sculptures displayed there. He moved to New York in 1900 and acquired a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1901, increasing a then-sizable fortune through prudent and timely investments.
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