Kaine: Virginia should consider a statue of Pocahontas instead of Robert E. Lee

WASHINGTON – Pocahontas over Robert E. Lee?

Yes, Virginia, you do have a choice.

Sen. Tim Kaine, the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee last year, suggested Sunday his home state should take a broader view of history when deciding which of its citizens are honored with statues in the U.S. Capitol.

Each state is allowed to place two statues amid the marbled columns of the Capitol’s Statuary Hall. Virginia is represented by statues of George Washington, the nation’s first president, and Robert E. Lee, a general who commanded Confederate troops during the Civil War.

But Kaine said Virginia could do better.

“I think as you look at the scope of Virginia history here in 2017, and if you want there to be two people to really stand for who Virginia is, why wouldn't you think about Pocahontas who, had she not saved John Smith's life, we wouldn't even be here possibly?” Kaine said during an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation.

Or, Kaine asked, why not Barbara Johns Powell? She was a 16-year-old student when she led her Prince Georges County classmates in a walkout for equality. The demonstration eventually led to a lawsuit that became part of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision that ended school desegregation.

Or maybe, Kaine said, the state should honor former Gov. Douglas Wilder, the grandson of slaves and the first elected African-American governor in the nation’s history.

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Statues honoring prominent Civil War generals and other figures have become a flashpoint across the country in light of last week’s white supremacist rally and ensuing violence in Charlottesville, Va.

Charlottesville, Baltimore and other cities have taken down or are considering removing statutes and monuments connected with the Confederacy. Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, announced last week he intends to file legislation to have such statues removed from the Capitol.

President Trump has defended the statues, calling them “beautiful” and saying they reflect the country’s history and culture.

Kaine, however, said the statues should reflect the entire scope of each state’s history.

“From 2017 looking backward,” he said, “I think Virginia could probably do better in the two people that we choose to stand for us in Statuary Hall. And I think a number of the other states can do better as well.”