We Asked What Should Replace Virginia’s Confederate Monuments. You Had Answers.

The over 200 Confederate monuments in Virginia have started coming down, as cities and towns throughout the commonwealth are finally taking steps to remove the racist statues that glorify the state’s bloody history. Leaders in Richmond, Alexandria and Fredericksburg have already removed or announced plans to remove these memorials. 

READ MORE: All the Virginia Confederate Monuments That Are Coming Down

But once the statues are gone, what should take their place? We asked you what you’d like to see in place of the monuments once they’ve been removed. Here are your suggestions:

Many people suggested gardens, citing that they’d be simultaneously beneficial for the community and could possibly be used to honor those who’ve fallen victim to police brutality. 

Others called for green space, to allow Virginians the freedom to create their own purpose for the newly freed land. 

One woman suggested memorializing the protests that played such an important role in many of the statues’ removals.  

And some did not care about the specifics, as long as the memorials’ replacements are used as an opportunity to focus on the future instead of glorifying the past. 

And if all else fails, several people cheekily recommended that the memorials in Richmond could be replaced with statues of 1980s metal band that got its start in the city, GWAR.