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Ground zero for America's Confederate monument debate

As the former capital of the Confederacy, Richmond, Va., has five towering monuments. But for many in the majority black city, the civil rights battles of today are so much bigger than bronze statues.

When Mayor Levar Stoney drives by the Confederate statues on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va., he sees people who fought to keep him from where he is today: sitting confidently in the corner office of City Hall.

鈥淚t was the dream of some of these leaders to ensure that people like me, people who look like me, don鈥檛 have these positions of power,鈥� says Mayor Stoney,聽an African American in his mid-30s with a ready smile. 鈥淵ou let your haters be your motivators.鈥�

In many ways, Monument 鈥� as it referred to in Richmond 鈥� is ground zero for America鈥檚 monument debate. The five-mile boulevard in the heart of the former Confederate capital is the city鈥檚 historical crown jewel 鈥� featuring five monuments honoring Confederate leaders such as Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and Stonewall Jackson. But it also speaks to the enduring racial disparities of today: the street鈥檚 multimillion dollar homes 鈥� many owned by white families 鈥� are surrounded by historically black, low-income neighborhoods.

Yet local African American leaders in Richmond, including Stoney, say their city will address Confederate statues differently, encouraging thoughtful conversation, civility, and community outreach over impulse decisions and violence. In late June, Stoney created the Monument Avenue Commission, a committee of historians, artists, and political leaders charged with facilitating community feedback and studying how the city can interpret Monument Avenue, a National Historic Landmark.

鈥淲e are going to respect the process, we are going to do this together, and we are going to come out with an outcome that is positive for our city. That's the goal,鈥� says Stoney. 鈥淟ooking at that mirror every day and seeing the reflection back, I have to ask myself: 鈥楢re we doing the right thing?鈥� And I think we are.鈥�

Richmond鈥檚 process has shown that opinion is not black and white, or literally, black versus white. Public comments on the commission鈥檚 website have 鈥渞un the gamut,鈥� says Gregg Kimball, Director of Public Services and Outreach for the Library of Virginia and co-chair of the commission 鈥撀爁rom leaving Monument Avenue untouched to removing all the statues. But the majority of voices lie somewhere in the middle, he notes.聽

Even within Richmond鈥檚 African American population, which makes up half the city, there are a myriad of views. Many black residents say attention to bronze statues takes resources away from real problems.

鈥淥ne of the biggest questions for me: How much do symbols matter to us as a community? There are a lot of other things that are influenced by race in the city that have a [more] direct impact on someone growing up here than these statutes do,鈥� says Dr. Kimball. 鈥淭aking down statues will not solve unequal housing or our schools 鈥� it has to be part of a larger conversation about why we are where we are. Hopefully we can use the history to inspire a larger conversation about structural issues that are keeping part of our community back.鈥�

What are the priorities?

As rain falls outside, Latonia and DJuana sit under hair dryers at Supreme Hair Styling Boutique, less than two miles away from the 60-foot tall Robert E. Lee statue erected in 1890. 聽

When asked about Monument Avenue, DJuana closes her laptop and says she鈥檚 got something to say. There is a racial divide in the city, she explains, and it has nothing to do with Monument Avenue.

鈥淲here are our priorities? Are your priorities teaching our children? The statues are not teaching them. They have to go to a school with mold in it,鈥� says DJuana, as five other women in the salon nod in agreement. DJuana points at her young son fidgeting in his seat and tears start to stain her cheeks. 鈥淚 have a 5-year-old that鈥檚 growing up in this world and he has to continue to see the hatred of others. When are we going to get past this? Where is the love for one another? Let鈥檚 move forward.鈥�

Money is an issue. On one hand, the statues need taxpayer money for maintenance. On the other, removing them would cost an estimated $5 million.

Councilwoman Kimberly Gray, who represents the Monument Avenue area and serves on the mayor鈥檚 commission, says it is hard to imagine any funds going to the statues when city schools, such as George Mason Elementary, don鈥檛 have adequate heating and air conditioning.

鈥淭here are disparities between our public schools in the city and surrounding counties鈥� We have tiles falling on children's heads,鈥� says Councilwoman Gray. 鈥淲e are so far behind, and that is the pressing issue for our city right now.鈥�

Richmond City public schools, which are 71 percent black, 14 percent Hispanic, and 12 percent white, perform far below the state average, according to聽. In 2016, 58 percent of the student body was proficient in reading, and 54 percent was proficient in math. In neighboring Chesterfield County, where only one quarter of students are black, 83 percent of students are proficient in both reading and math.

Jerome Legions, a African-American resident of the nearby Carver neighborhood and president of the Carver Civic Association, can鈥檛 talk about the monuments as a racial issue without cutting himself off.

鈥淚 hate that we are having this conversation,鈥� says Mr. Legions. 鈥淟et's put this energy on the bad test scores in the African American schools.鈥�

For him, it is about more than the reallocation of funds. The energy around the monument debate, and the collective voice of the African American community, should be reassigned to education.

鈥淭ake that energy and raise hell with the school board representative. Knock on his door and pack those meetings,鈥� says Legions. 鈥淟et's move that energy to the school board chambers.鈥�

The right side of history聽

When Stoney convened the commission in June, he charged the 10-member committee with finding a way to tell 鈥溾�� of Monument Avenue. The commission was going to discuss plaques that put the monuments in context, or potentially adding more monuments to reflect 鈥渁 broader, more inclusive story of our city.鈥� Removing the statues was not on the table.

But after the events in Charlottesville, Va., an hour away in early August, where a young counterprotester was killed, racial tensions rose across the country, including here. The day after Charlottesville, protesters聽聽and chanted 鈥淭ake down the monuments,鈥� and one journalist was sent to the hospital with injuries after a fight broke out.聽The J.E.B. Stuart monument was vandalized with two cans of tar.

Stoney announced that he wanted the commission to consider removal as an option, and he delayed the next public hearing聽to October to let things settle down.

Councilwoman Gray,聽the first woman and the first minority to represent District 2,聽says the unrest on Monument didn鈥檛 reflect the views of her constituents.

Many white constituents have written to Gray asking her to consider removing the monuments 鈥� not because they are personally bothered by them, but because they have seen the way the monuments make their black neighbors and friends feel.

The mayor says he has heard similar things, and they don鈥檛 surprise him. Richmonders want to be on the right side of history, says Stoney, and that鈥檚 why approaching Monument with clear-headedness is so important.

鈥淲e鈥檙e the former capital of the Confederacy, that will always be part of our history,鈥� says Stoney. 鈥淗owever I want the Richmond today to be seen by everyone in America鈥�. That鈥檚 a Richmond that is inclusive, welcoming, open-minded, and that鈥檚 diverse.鈥�

For many, that means talking about the city鈥檚 future, not its past.

鈥淭o me, the statues represent where we have been,鈥� says Latonia, at Supreme Boutique. 鈥淵ou want to teach kids something? Take them to the statue: 鈥楾his is who said you couldn鈥檛鈥︹�� 鈥� But famous black Richmonders like tennis legend Arthur Ashe and former Gov. Douglas Wilder tell a different story, she says. 鈥� 鈥楻ight here in the city of Richmond, where people said you couldn鈥檛 and you wouldn鈥檛, you have come so far.鈥欌��