Ninth District City Councilman Michael Jones introduced a resolution asking the General Assembly to exempt Richmond from sections of the state code that forbid removing or altering war memorials like the memorials to Confederate leaders that line Monument Avenue.
Richmond City Council on Monday will weigh whether to seek local control over the city’s Confederate monuments, and afterward, a council committee will hear a presentation on the Navy Hill Development Advisory Commission's final report and consider 10 ordinances related to the $1.5 billion downtown redevelopment project.
The local governing body is expected to act on a resolution introduced by 9th District Councilman Michael Jones at council’s December meeting. If approved, the council would ask the General Assembly to exempt the city from sections of the state code that prohibit localities from removing or altering war memorials such as the statues of Confederate generals that line Monument Avenue.
Monday won’t be the first time that City Council has considered such a change. Its members voted down similar resolutions in 2017 and 2018, both also proposed by Jones. In each previous attempt, 1st District Councilman Andreas Addison, 2nd District Councilwoman Kim Gray, 3rd District Councilman and Vice President Chris Hilbert, 4th District Councilwoman Kristen Larson, former 5th District Councilman Parker Agelasto and 8th District Councilwoman Reva Trammell voted against the measures.
Sixth District Councilwoman Ellen Robertson supported both attempts, while 7th District Councilwoman and Council President Cynthia Newbille abstained from voting in 2017 but supported Jones’ second attempt.
For Jones, though, the issue is black and white.
"There are only two sides to this," he says in an interview. "You're either for white supremacy policies — or racist policies — or anti-racist policies; that's the divide."
Virginia’s Confederate statues have been a topic of debate since the “Unite the Right” rally held in Charlottesville in 2017 attracted national attention to the issue, and while state lawmakers introduced bills to let localities decide their fates in its wake, they were unsuccessful in the Republican-controlled legislature. This time, though, Jones says he’s hopeful that the new Democratic majority will be supportive of the measure.
At the state level, Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, has introduced legislation for the upcoming legislative session that would give localities the authority to remove, relocate or alter their war memorials.
“Whether or not I believe the monuments should come down or not, I just simply believe that we should address this issue so we can have the conversation,” Jones says. “We can’t have a larger conversation about the monuments if we don't have the authority to get it done.”
Regardless of whether the General Assembly acts on such a change locally or statewide, though, it remains to be seen whether Richmond’s City Council would agree to modify or take down the city’s monuments if given the authority.
New 5th District Councilwoman Stephanie Lynch says she’ll support Jones’ resolution, and that while she sees merit in arguments for taking the statues down as well as leaving them in place with added historical context, local control is needed to open the door to those discussions.
Gray — whose district includes the section of Monument Avenue east of Arthur Ashe Boulevard – hadn’t yet decided as of Friday how she’ll vote on Jones’ resolution, but says his previous attempts have been too narrowly focused on Monument Avenue, without addressing how taking down or modifying the statues will be funded. Despite that, Gray says she supports local control over the monuments and the recommendations of the Monument Avenue Commission, but she believes that adding historical context to the monuments should be a primary focus.
“I do think that there’s a broader dialogue and conversation that needs to happen around how we memorialize and tell stories and hold onto pieces of history that should be continuously told," she says. "If you don’t know your history, you’ll repeat it."
The Monument Avenue Commission, convened by Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, recommended taking down the statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis on the historic corridor — pending litigation or changes in state law that the city "may choose to initiate or support" — and add signs to other Confederate monuments to offer additional historical context in a 115-page report released in 2018.
"Of all the statues, this one is the most unabashedly Lost Cause in its design and sentiment," the report noted, adding, "Davis was not from Richmond or Virginia."
Gray also has backed a movement to erect a monument in recognition of 14 Medal of Honor recipients from a U.S. Colored Troops regiment of the Union Army who fought at the Battle of New Market Heights, and has requested that the city appropriate $5,000 to the Honor the 14 Foundation, a local group heading the effort.
A public hearing on Jones' resolution will take place during council's 5 p.m. special meeting in Council Chambers at City Hall. After the meeting, council's Organizational Development Standing Committee will hear a presentation on the Navy Hill Development Advisory Commission's final report. Also on the council committee's agenda are 10 ordinances that could clear the way for the Navy Hill development. The project would still need approval by the full City Council, which is also awaiting a recommendation from Chicago-based firm C.H. Johnson Consulting.
