Photo illustration by Heather Palmateer
Last summer, as many Richmonders questioned what, if anything, should take the place of Monument Avenue’s fallen Confederate statues, and as Gov. Ralph Northam pledged $11 million to overhaul the avenue in December, Reimagining Monument Avenue was reaching out to community members to form a coalition of activists, historians, civic and business leaders, architects, and designers.
The nonprofit collective formed last summer during nightly protests against police brutality and racial inequity and the subsequent removal of Confederate memorials. After a series of virtual meetings, the group held its first in-person event in late May at The Branch Museum, with presentations from historians, organizers and activists. It hopes to hold a similar public event by the end of summer.
Architect Burt Pinnock, a co-facilitator of the group, likens the collective’s objective to Richmond 300, the city’s master-planning process that encouraged citizen participation. “It’s not necessarily trying to get everybody to say, ‘Yes, this is exactly what we all agree on,’” he says. “It’s more about hearing every voice and building on a vision.”
Before any plans for Monument Avenue are put in place, co-facilitator Julie Weissend says it’s imperative that everyone is “on the same page” about Richmond’s true history. “It’s bigger than Monument Avenue,” she says, with the proposed Enslaved African Heritage Campus in Shockoe Bottom, the restoration of Richmond’s Black cemeteries and other initiatives all interrelated. “We need to invest in all of the neighborhoods and do things for the community so that everybody can feel inspired.”
Pinnock adds, “It’s taken us 400 years to get here, so let’s take a minute to get out of it,” by being deliberate about what comes next.
