The statue of African American tennis legend Arthur Ashe on Richmond, Virginia's, Monument Avenue has been vandalised with the words "White Lives Matter", a phrase used as a banner by far-right groups.

The Arthur Ashe monument was dedicated in 1996 to memorialise the Richmond native and counterbalance the string of statues on Memorial Avenue dedicated to Confederate leaders.

The vandalism of the Ashe statue comes as multiple Confederate statues have been toppled, vandalised and slated for removal in the city during protests prompted by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The most recent statue to fall in Richmond was the Howitzer memorial, which was erected for troops that fought during the Confederate rebellion to maintain slavery.

Paint and protest graffiti covers the Jefferson Davis Memorial in Richmond following a week of unrest in the US against police brutality and racism in policing [J Scott Applewhite/AP Photo]

As the US contends with its racist past, US governors are announcing official commemorations of Juneteenth, a popular holiday that celebrates the emancipation of slaves in the US celebrated on June 19.