To those still interested in the Richmond Va. "museum" here's an update from
today's Richmond newspaper.  Gosh, even the Justice Dept. was ready to get
involved!


"A month after Robert E. Lee's image was taken down from the Canal Walk's
floodwall, the local and state NAACP announced they want it to stay down.

"The Civil War is over. It was lost. The Confederates were found to be
traitors to the United States," King Salim Khalfani, executive director of
the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP, said after a news conference
yesterday. "We're not in denial about history, but as an African person,
when I see a portrait of Robert E. Lee, it brings out a negative reaction."

The announcement was made at state NAACP headquarters in North Richmond.

Khalfani also denounced the people who have threatened the life of City
Councilman Sa'ad El-Amin, who initiated the campaign to have Lee's portrait
removed.

"We will continue to speak out on this issue and we should not be subjected
to death threats, fear and innuendo."

El-Amin, who also was at the news conference, said he has received a number
of death threats, both through the mail and on the telephone. But he
insisted he was not intimidated, calling his antagonizers "cowardly and
ignorant."

"If you want me, I'm here," he said. "But you better bring your stuff
because I'm prepared for you."

Members of the Richmond Police Department's criminal intelligence unit have
been investigating the threats, said spokeswoman Christie Collins. She said
the police have been looking at a number of complaints, including tapes from
several voice mail messages left on El-Amin's answering machine.

El-Amin added that Richmond won't suffer from a lack of tributes to the
Confederate general if the portrait is not put back up.

"They have so many Civil War memorials in this city, including at least 15
to Robert E. Lee," he said.

The controversy over the portrait erupted after El-Amin saw a front page
Times-Dispatch photo of workers hanging it on the floodwall. He complained
to the men in charge of developing the Canal Walk, saying Lee was viewed as
a pariah in the black community. The organizers agreed to take the portrait
down.

That set off a large public outcry. Angry protesters filled the voice
mailboxes at the Richmond Historic Riverfront Foundation and more than 1,000
people called The Times-Dispatch to voice their opinion.

A 19-member citizens committee was formed to review all of the images
selected for the floodwall gallery. That group, which includes Richmond
Mayor Timothy M. Kaine, met on June 16 and decided to study the issue for 30
days before making a recommendation.

Tensions were running so high that the U.S. Department of Justice offered to
act as a mediator between the disgruntled parties.

Daryl Borgquist, a Justice Department spokesman, said members of the
department's community relations services called the various parties
involved in the dispute, including the NAACP, El-Amin, the Sons of
Confederate Veterans and the Richmond Historic Riverfront Development.

Borgquist said most declined the department's offer because they wanted to
see what the citizens committee would do.

"But if there is a boycott or if for some reason not all issues have been
resolved, then there may still be a role for us," he said.

Community relations services was established as a division in the Department
of Justice in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Its members act as mediators
whenever a city experiences a communitywide dispute involving race, color or
national origin, Borgquist said.

Members of the NAACP made it clear yesterday they do not want to see Lee's
portrait on the floodwall gallery.

E. Martin Jewell, a member of the Richmond NAACP's Executive Committee, said
putting Lee's portrait by the Canal Walk would be a slap in the face to the
city's African-American community.

"You're telling black folks you don't want to have them in this
development," he said.

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