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This footage was filmed and produced 1 July 2020. The city of Richmond has made good on its promise to take down all the Confederate statues along Monument Avenue, starting Wednesday with the removal of the Stonewall Jackson statue. Minutes before cranes separated the Jackson statue from its column base, a storm rolled through Wednesday afternoon. Increasingly intense rains drenched the crowd while lightning occasionally streaked across the clouds. "As the rain poured down - down came a monument to a heinous historical figure. One who is deserving of every condemnation civilized beings can muster. A collective gasp - framed by a thunderous roar from heavens. Today Monument Ave was cleansed of this unjustifiable stain - a statue whose symbolic presence no longer made sense. It never made sense. Today, as the rain poured down from sky - our ancestors cried tears of joy and relief. And today - my fatigue washed away. This moment, that storm, the solidarity of the crowd; they renewed my resolve. Refreshed my conviction. Restored my hope - that one day soon - Black Lives will Matter too!", said Leah Dozier Walker, author of the video. (Footage by StringersHub via Getty Images)