At least 14 interested in acquiring Charlottesville statues

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — At least 13 organizations and one municipality have expressed interest in acquiring two statues of Confederate generals removed from downtown Charlottesville parks, including one monument that was the focus of a violent white nationalist rally in 2017, according to city documents.

Museums, battlefields and historical sites in Virginia and beyond expressed interest in the statues of Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson that were removed earlier this month, according to the documents acquired by The Daily Progress. The city also received at least 18 expressions of interest from private citizens across the country.

The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center is the only Charlottesville-area entity that expressed interest. LAXART, an art museum in Los Angeles, also expressed interest and submitted a proposal to include the statues as the centerpiece of an upcoming exhibit featuring decommissioned Confederate monuments alongside contemporary art.

The town of Goshen in Rockbridge County asked to acquire the statues for free to place in front of its newly constructed community center to attract tourists.

Others interested include the Jim Crow Museum in Big Rapids, Michigan; the Gettysburg Sculpture Museum in Pennsylvania; the Ogletree Estate in Cornelia, Georgia; Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas; the Confederate Gen. Robert Toombs Camp in Higgston, Georgia; and the Controversial Art Trust in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Charlottesville City Council still has not decided whether ownership of the statues should be transferred to a museum or other entity or whether the statues should be demolished. The city said July 13 that it would continue to accept statements of interest from entities interested in acquiring...