A Black-oriented museum in Charlottesville, Va., is proposing to melt down a statue of Confederate leader Robert E. Lee and use the bronze to create new art.

The statue was a central focus of the fatal Unite the Right rally in the central Virginia city in August 2017.

The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center is proposing to commission an artist-in-residence to create new art that would be gifted to the city of Charlottesville.

The statue in question was a gift to the city from a wealthy white stockbroker and was built in 1924 during the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, NPR reports. 

The statue was removed in July. The proposal is backed by local, state and national advocacy groups, NPR reports.