Confederate monument melted down to create new, more inclusive public art

Foundry workers at an undisclosed location begin the long process of disassembling and melting down the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The statue was a focal point of deadly riots in Charlottesville, Va. in 2017. (Eze Amos/For Swords into Plowshares)

Communities across the American South have removed Confederate monuments from public spaces in recent years. Some have gone to museums, others are locked away in storage.

But one particularly controversial statue from Charlottesville, Va. is on a different journey — to be transformed into something new.