Richmond leaders are asking the General Assembly for local control over the city’s Confederate monuments.
Robert E. Lee Monument
The monument of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee is seen during Easter on Parade. (File photo by Harry Kollatz Jr.)
City Council on Monday approved a resolution proposed by 9th District representative Michael Jones seeking exemption from state law that limits the power of localities to remove or alter war memorials such as the statues of Confederate leaders that line Monument Avenue.
This was the third time that the local governing body considered the resolution, which had been denied when it was introduced by Jones in 2017 and 2018.
Along with Jones, 1st District Councilman Andreas Addison, 3rd District Councilman and Vice President Chris Hilbert, 5th District Councilwoman Stephanie Lynch, 6th District Councilwoman Ellen Robertson and 7th District Councilwoman and Council President Cynthia Newbille voted in favor of the motion.
Fourth District Councilwoman Kristen Larson and 8th District Councilwoman Reva Trammell opposed the change. Larson said that because the vote occurred at a special meeting, she wasn't afforded enough opportunity to gauge the opinions of her constituents.
"It’s not about tearing down statues; it’s not about erasing or changing history, that’s not what this is about," Jones said before the vote. "This is about us, as legislators, doing what we were elected to do: to legislate, and I believe it’s time for us to move this particular resolution forward to the General Assembly to let them know where we stand."
The Jefferson Davis statute on Monument Avenue
If the legislature approves the request, Jones says he plans to support the recommendations of the Monument Avenue Commission. In its 2018 report, that commission advised the city to take down the statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis — 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.
2nd District Councilwoman Kim Gray — whose district includes the section of Monument Avenue east of Arthur Ashe Boulevard — did not attend Monday's special meeting due to a family emergency, though she previously said the resolution was too narrowly focused on Monument Avenue.
Virginia’s Confederate statues have been a topic of renewed debate since the “Unite the Right” rally held in Charlottesville in 2017 attracted national attention to the issue, and while state lawmakers have since introduced bills to let localities decide their fate, such measures were unsuccessful in the Republican-controlled legislature.
During the meeting's public comment period, two speakers opposed the resolution, while six supported it. The two opponents, who both identified themselves as Hampton Roads residents, accused Jones of attempting to erase Richmond's history during the Civil War.
"The state law must stay to protect our war memorials," one speaker said. "I stand against Michael Jones and the NAACP. All they represent is hate and to dominate. It’s not about white supremacy, as he says, and racists. It’s about over 200,000 Confederate dead.”
Jones took exception to that comment and said the speaker mischaracterized his intentions.
"To say that I represent or am for hate is a mischaracterization of who I am and what I stand for," he said.
Supporters of the resolution on council say they're encouraged by the new Democratic majority in the state House and Senate, and are optimistic that the request will find support during the legislative session that starts Wednesday.
“There’s a progressive majority in both houses that should be likely to pass this, giving local governments [authority] over their own monuments," said Hilbert, who previously opposed the measure. "Now what could be more simple than that? We could decide to put up some more if we want to. I doubt that’s going to happen, but this just gives us the authority over matters in our own jurisdiction.”
Addison, who served on the Monument Avenue Commission and was another former opponent of the resolution who voted in its favor Monday, said his change of heart is partially due to the growing prominence of the debate around Confederate statues, as well as the change in state leadership.
"I am not for the strict removal of statues. I am for the conversation of what we are going to do with our statues," he said. "It's not about removal. It's labeled that, but I think there's way more context to what this provides us an opportunity for."
Also on Monday, the council — acting as the Organizational Development Standing Committee — heard the Navy Hill Development Advisory Commission's final report and voted unanimously to defer action on the $1.5 billion arena and downtown development project until the committee's Feb. 3 meeting.
The council also expects a report early next month from CH Johnson, the firm it hired to conduct a second review of the proposal, and a final City Council vote is expected by the end of February, Newbille says.
