The Virginia Military Institute removed a prominent statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson on Monday, an effort initiated this fall after allegations of systemic racism roiled the school. Around 9:45 a.m., a crane plucked the statue, which some cadets were required to salute until several years ago, off its base and slowly hoisted it away at the public military college in Lexington. A small crowd gathered amid snow flurries to look on. The school's board voted to remove the statue in late October after The Washington Post published a story that described an "atmosphere of hostility and cultural insensitivity" at VMI. The piece detailed incidents such as lynching threats and a white professor reminiscing in class about her father's Ku Klux Klan membership. Founded in 1839, VMI says it is the oldest state-supported military college in the U.S. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake