Black Va GOP Candidate: 'Keep Statues Where They Are'

A conservative Republican candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates, who happens to be black, has recently emerged as one of the most spirited advocates of keeping Confederate statues up in the Old Dominion State.

"We have a legal responsibility to protect our war memorials," said Adam Roosevelt ("I've heard all the jokes about my name!"), Republican nominee against Democratic Delegate and Minority Whip Alfonso H. Lopez in the 49th District (Arlington, Virginia).

Many Virginia Republicans on the ballot this fall argue it would be too costly for taxpayers to relocate or tear down all of the statues across the state honoring Confederate figures. In Charlottesville, Virginia, site of the violence last month that sparked the debate over statues, there is a $300,000-$700,000 price tag on the removal of statues of Confederate heroes Robert E. Lee, P.G.T. Beauregard, and Stonewall Jackson.

But small businessman and U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Roosevelt approaches the issue from an entirely different perspective.

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