After the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, citizens of Richmond, Virginia took to the streets to address their problematic statues of confederate figures. Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart, Matthew Fontaine and later Robert E. Lee all came down, some from the hands of protesters themselves. To many individuals in Richmond and spectators around the world, this was a wake-up moment in the field of oppressive monuments. Things can change before our very eyes if we speak up and let people know how we feel.
A seminal figure in this entire situation was none other than Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney. As the 80th mayor of Richmond, Virginia, Mayor Stoney was in office in 2020 while all of this was happening.
The Monuments Toolkit had the pleasure of sitting down with Mayor Stoney in Richmond for a great 1-on-1 conversation. We spoke about the protests from 2 years ago, the history of Monuments Avenue and steps to reconciliation.