Statue of Arthur Ashe in Richmond, Virginia, defaced with 'White Lives Matter' spray paint

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

A statue of tennis legend Arthur Ashe was spray painted with the words "White Lives Matter" and "WLM" on Wednesday in Richmond, Virginia.

Ashe is the only Black man to win Wimbledon and the U.S. and Australian Opens. Throughout his career and afterward, Ashe fought for racial equality and civil rights, notably the movement to end apartheid in South Africa. He died in 1993.

The statue of Ashe was one of six on Monument Avenue in Richmond. The other five monuments commemorated the Confederacy, including Robert E. Lee, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Jefferson Davis, J.E.B. Stuart and Matthew Fontaine Maury. Protestors toppled the Davis statue last week.

After days of protests over racial inequality and police brutality, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam ordered the Lee statue removed "as soon as possible" on June 3. Mayor Levar Stoney later said he would propose for the removal of the four other Confederate statues.

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[underpants]

1. It's already cleaned up. Benedictine huh

Catholic military private school. It used to be about 6 blocks from the Ashe statue but they moved to a new campus a few years ago.

[Corgigal]

2. I met Arthur Ashe,

half a million years ago, when he was playing at Forest Hills N.Y. He took his time to talk with me, gave me his autograph. Very nice man.

Leave his statue alone. I didn’t even know he had one, but he was nice to this woman when I was just a teenager. He should have more.

[NurseJackie]

6. What a wonderful memory ❤️

Thank you for sharing it with us.

[getagrip_already]

3. disgusting, but free speach....

At least he didn't blow it, and protesters, to hell with a huge bomb. Thankful for small things I guess. But it is speach and somewhat peaceful protest.

I don't have a huge issue with the act, just the message.

[Polybius]

4. It's not free speech to deface a statue

You don't have a huge issue with the act of defacing Arthur Ashe?

[Ex Lurker]

5. Vandalism. They should be arrested nt

[getagrip_already]

8. what about those that spray painted the BLM messaging on the same statue?

That was there also. It was kind of a grafitti war going on.

[getagrip_already]

7. sure, vandalism is a crime, so is smashing statues of confederate leaders.....

or breaking windows during a demonstration, and those are prosecuted.

But I have no issues with non-violent protest in general, no matter the message. The message may be disgusting, but it is protected speech. In fact, if you look at pictures of that statue, there is also BLM messaging spray painted on it. Nobody seems to mind vandelism when they agree with the message.

The venom on here isn't for the paint, it's for the message. I don't give a crap about what a person wants to express, as long as it's peaceful.


And civil disobedience has a long and illegal history, but it is still an effective tool.