Arthur Ashe Monument (Image from Instagram courtesy of @DDotrock)
The statue of tennis legend, Arthur Ashe was vandalized this week with the words, “white lives matter,” and the letters, “WLM.”
READ MORE: Protesters topple Jefferson Davis statue in Virginia capital
Richmond police were alerted to the vandalism early Wednesday morning and said the paint was already being removed by volunteers when they arrived.
The statue of Ashe is the only sculpture of a Black person on Monument Avenue.
READ MORE: Christopher Columbus statues beheaded in Boston, toppled in Richmond
Other statues torn down in Virginia were of Confederate President Jefferson Davis on Monument Avenue, Confederate Gen. Williams Carter Wickham in Monroe Park, and Christopher Columbus in Byrd Park.
One woman who witnessed the vandalism said, “Black lives have been significantly hurt by what Monument Avenue represents: systemic racism that existed before and after the Civil War.”
