RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia lawmaker has filed a bill that would scrap the state’s Lee-Jackson holiday celebrating two Confederate generals and add one on Election Day.
Del. Joseph Lindsey’s bill is one of hundreds that lawmakers will consider when they convene next month for the start of the 2020 legislative session.
Lee-Jackson Day, established over 100 years ago, is observed annually on the Friday preceding the third Monday in January.
It honors Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, both native Virginians.
Critics view it as a celebration of the state’s slave-holding history. Many localities do not observe it.